Coastguard Seizes 260,000 Amphetamine Pills With Inverted Swastika Symbol After They Wash Up On Shore

The Greek coastguard has seized over 260,000 amphetamine pills bearing an ‘inverted swastika’ symbol after they washed up on shore.

The Greek authorities are investigating after numerous bags of the pills washed up on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kastellorizo.

Each bag is said to weigh between 350 and 450 grammes (12 and 16 oz), and the police said on Monday (17th January) that they had seized around 260,000 pills in total.

The amphetamines are said to contain the drug Captagon, which is a derivative of amphetamines that is widely used in the Middle East. It was reportedly widely used in the ongoing Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011 during the Arab Spring protests.

Greek Coast Guards seized 260,000 Amphetamine pills with Swastika symbol in Rhodes.
(Hellenic Coast Guard/Newsflash)

It is currently unclear if the drugs are linked to the Syrian Civil War, and the authorities are said to be puzzled by the ‘inverted swastika’ symbol, clearly visible on the bags of drugs.

It is currently unclear why the swastika is inverted on the packets containing the drugs. Before it was hijacked by the Nazis in the 1930s, the swastika had a long history in Eurasian cultures, symbolising divinity and spirituality.

The reverse swastika, also known as a left-facing swastika, is technically called a ‘sauwastika’ and is often found imprinted on the chests of Buddhas. In Hinduism, it is typically linked to esoteric Tantric practices and is representative of the goddess Kali, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

It is currently unclear, however, if the drug traffickers chose the symbol for any particular reason.


To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: William McGee, Agency: Newsflash

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