Police revealed yesterday that a second operation was held against a shipment of Captagon pills to Saudi Arabia from Istanbul in March, and the total number of pills seized was 390,000.

On March 5, police seized 320,000 pills at a branch of a shipping company, and another raid at the same site netted 70,000 pills. All were hidden in engine parts. Police are still looking for the suspects who tried to send the drugs.

Captagon, a synthetic drug made from amphetamine fenethylline, is cheap to produce, and its composition includes widely available legal substances. Saudi Arabia is one of the main markets for the drug, where they are commonly seized.

According to a Reuters report, experts estimate that some 40 percent of drug users between the age of 12 and 22 in Saudi Arabia are addicted to Captagon.