The story: Saudi authorities have announced that they have confiscated a shipment of 8.7M amphetamine pills—commonly known as Captagon—at Jeddah port. The illicit trade in Captagon continues to trouble Gulf Arab states, with drug seizures on the rise. These concerns are partly rooted in the alleged geopolitical dimensions of the drug trade. Indeed, the profitable smuggling operations have reported links to Hezbollah and the Syrian government, and are claimed to be providing both with an important source of revenue.

The coverage: On Aug. 1, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the Saudi Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority had seized...