While world attention is focused on the synthetic drug from China, a market for illegally produced opioids in India is fuelling a health emergency in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast. Indian authorities have launched searches and imposed restrictions on the production and export of certain drugs, while the WHO reports that counterfeit medicines pose a growing threat.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) – While the United States focuses on the growing problem of fentanyl from China, another opioid-related problem is going unnoticed, namely the trafficking of powerful painkillers from India to Africa.

Although the issue is similar, this health crisis – generated by a country deemed an ally of the West – is affecting countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

This week a BBC investigation revealed that Aveo Pharmaceuticals, a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company, is making highly addictive opioids, and exporting them to West Africa without a licence.

The pills contain tapentadol as well as carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant banned in Europe due to its high potential for addiction.

In Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, these drugs are widely used by young people due to their low cost, but they are generating a regional health emergency.

The WHO estimates that about 100,000 people in Africa die each year from fake or poor-quality drugs. According to Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics, approximately four million Nigerians use opioids.

In Tamale, in northern Ghana, a local chief set up a team of about a hundred volunteers in an attempt to seize pills and stem the problem.

However, experts warn that Aveo Pharmaceuticals has changed the composition of its products – initially containing only tapentadol, now sold only by prescription – by adding carisoprodol to evade controls, thus creating a mix that is in many cases lethal.

Following these revelations, Indian authorities raided Aveo Pharmaceuticals’ facilities, confiscating the entire stock and halting production.

The smuggling of unlicensed drugs in India has been a growing problem for years. Even before the pandemic, several cases were reported involving Indian drugs with serious side effects with the latter pulled from the market.

A 2019 study showed that the growth of India's pharmaceutical industry, whose exports are now worth at least US$ 28 billion a year, was accompanied by an ever-expanding market for counterfeit and unregulated drugs.

Under Indian law, drugs must comply with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and other safety regulations. However, many pharmaceutical companies provide fake addresses and fake contacts to escape controls, making it hard to combat illegal trafficking.

Earlier this year, Telangana's Drugs Control Administration (DCA) seized unlicensed drugs worth 20 million rupees, withdrawing from the market the non-compliant products of Hyderabad-based Akron Formulations India Private Limited after a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The problem is growing. In 2024, the DCA reported 573 violations related to drug smuggling, compared to 56 cases the previous year.

Yet, despite the well-documented problem, India continues to be a strategic hub for the global pharmaceutical industry.

Merck, the US pharmaceutical giant known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada, has announced plans to expand its presence in India, increasing the number of employees from 1,800 to 2,700.

The decision, announced by Executive Vice President Dave Williams at a press conference in Telangana, shows that India remains a key investment market, despite regulatory and pharmaceutical safety challenges.

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• india
• drugs
• pharmaceuticals
• fake
• opioids
• fentanyl
• nigeria
• ghana
• ivory coast
• merck