Indian pharmaceutical firms fueling deadly opioid epidemic ravaging W. Africa, beyond
Islamabad: India has emerged as the world’s leading hub for illegal export of high-potency tapentadol and fueling a deadly opioid epidemic that is ravaging West Africa and beyond.
According to Kashmir Media Service, investigative reports from AFP and Bellingcat reveal that Indian pharmaceutical firms are pumping millions of unapproved pills into the black market where they are mixed into the lethal kush drug.
Indian pharma companies are manufacturing and exporting tapentadol dosages as high as 250 mg which is so dangerous that they have no medical approval from any legitimate regulatory authority in the world.
While India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) claims a zero-tolerance policy, records show over 1,400 illegal consignments worth billions of rupees were dumped into Africa between 2023 and 2025 alone.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry has effectively become a state-sanctioned narco-cartel prioritizing profit over human life by bypassing international safety protocols and manufacturing illicit synthetic opioids.
By flooding vulnerable nations with cheap and highly addictive pills, India is responsible for thousands of innocent deaths and a public health catastrophe.
Modern Indian firms are using sophisticated trafficking networks to ship banned substances disguised as legitimate medicine.
In Sierra Leone and Liberia, 90% of rehab admissions are linked to Indian-made opioids which exposes India as the primary architect behind this regional collapse.
Systematic forgery of end-user certificates and mislabeling of toxic chemicals proves that India’s pharmacy of the world is actually a global warehouse for the precursors of fentanyl and other deadly synthetic drugs.
