During a bust aided by Saudi Arabia, more than six million captagon pills were seized, resulting in the arrest of a smuggling network in Oman.

“In cooperation with Saudi authorities, police in the sultanate tracked and ambushed a network smuggling large quantities of drugs across land and sea borders, the Oman News Agency reported.

“More than six million Captagon pills were seized during the operation,” according to the news agency. The drugs were stored in various hideouts and were intended for export.

The quantity seized is significant for Oman which usually announces smaller hauls.

The police released a video on social media showing officers unloading white cardboard boxes and plastic containers filled with Captagon tablets.

Omani authorities did not specify the intended destination of the drug shipment, but neighbouring Saudi Arabia is believed to be the largest market for the drug.

Captagon, which was once legal and used to treat narcolepsy, is mainly produced in Syria and Lebanon and smuggled to the Gulf region as its primary consumer market.

A widespread crackdown has been launched after Saudi Arabia became a major capital market, ending a moratorium on the death penalty for drug cases.

According to an AFP tally, at least 20 people have been executed for drug-related offenses since last year.

The Saudi Arabian government regularly reports seizures of amphetamine pills without specifying whether they are captagon or other types of narcotics.