Moroccan police seize Captagon shipment at northern port

Two million pills found on a container ship travelling from Lebanon to West Africa

Captagon pills seized in Lebanon, one of the two main sources of the drug in the region along with Syria. AFP

Authorities in Morocco have confiscated more than two million Captagon pills, foiling what they called an "international trafficking attempt" of the amphetamine-like drug to West Africa, police said.

The pills were found on Friday at the Tanger Med industrial port complex on the kingdom's northern coast, security services said in a statement.

The drugs were "concealed inside a goods container onboard a transport ship" headed from Lebanon to West Africa, it added, without specifying which country.

Searches "led to the discovery and seizure of psychotropic substances hidden inside barrels containing consumer products", according to the General Directorate for National Security, which said 2,018,500 Captagon tablets were taken.

An investigation has been launched in the coastal city of Tangier.

Trade of the stimulant has increased in recent years. Most Captagon originates in Lebanon and Syria. A multi-billion-dollar industry has made the drug the Lebanon's largest export.

Lebanese authorities recently intensified efforts to tackle production and trafficking after a backlash from Gulf nations where shipments were intercepted.