Vetted by NeuralPress's Multi-Agent Verifier for strict factual validity and event relevance. Our compliance engine cross-checks and filters search results to ensure zero false correlations or misleading content.
Estimated Distribution of Tapentadol Exports
Market share of the top three Indian pharmaceutical suppliers in West African trade.
Primary Sources
How India's Opioid Exports Are Fueling West Africa's Synthetic Drug ...
A Representational Image [ Ato Aikins/ Unsplash] Latest from Blog by Our Diplomatic Affairs Editor NATO is reportedly preparing to establish its first Asian regional office Far beneath the manicured lawns, rolling gardens, and ornamental lake surrounding a former royal palace on by Our Correspondent in Colombo Rohan de Silva is a Catholic priest associated with the Centre The mounting pressure from the Catholic Church over the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks is pushing the President Nicolás Maduro’s removal from power, carried out in a swift and unprecedented operation by U.S. A video circulating widely on social media in Sri Lanka has triggered a wave of controversy ‘A man cannot win elections… But he is not a thief..’ This is the tagline that Scientists have uncovered extensive differences in gene expression between male and female brain cells in a A war involving Iran is now reverberating far beyond the Middle East, exposing the fragile foundations The Trump family-associated crypto venture World Liberty is facing mounting pressure after its WLFI token fell
Opioids without oversight: The Indian pipeline feeding West Africa's crisis
This article is the result of a collaboration with Netherlands-based open-source media outlet Bellingcat. Read Bellingcat’s editorially independent coverage here.Over 60 Indian pharmaceutical suppliers have exported synthetic opioid pills worth almost Rs 1,220 crore – or US $130 million – to West African nations. Most of the destination countries had not approved the drug, and have an opioid abuse problem.These pills contained tapentadol, classified as a psychotropic substance in India and five times more potent than intravenous morphine. Indian rules cap its manufacture at doses of up to 100 mg for instant-release formulations and 200 mg for slow-release ones. Anything stronger requires a no-objection certificate from India’s apex drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). However, according to records from import-export data provider 52wmb, more than 1,400 consignments of tapentadol were sent to West Africa over three years, from January 2023 to December 2025. Among consignments with known dosages, the majority were above 200 mg, according to export data analysis by Bellingcat – a Netherlands-based investigative outlet focussing on open source data – and Newslaundry.Most tapentadol pills sent between 2023 and 2025 had the coastal nations of Ghana and Sierra Leone listed as their declared destinations, according to the export cross-checked against records provided by trade data aggregator ImportGenius. In Ghana, tapentadol – known on the street as “Red” – is driving a surge in abuse, with users slipping into zombie-like states at high doses. Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission said trafficking has steadily increased over the past three years, with more than 37 lakh 250 mg tablets seized, most traced back to exports from India. The commission said Ghana emerged as both a destination and transit hub while Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority told Bellingcat it “never issued any permit” for tapentadol “of any strength”. Sierra Leone declared a national emergency over rampant drug abuse in 2024, with tapentadol among unapproved items.The manufacturing and export puzzleOf the more than 60 suppliers that exported at least 32.1 crore pills to West African countries, three Indian companies – Syncom Formulations, Puizer Pharmaceuticals and Twin Impex – were listed as the biggest suppliers by cost, their exports collectively accounting for half of all tapentadol shipments analysed during this period.So how did these shipments get through?...
Opioids without oversight: The Indian pipeline feeding… - inkl
Read Bellingcat's editorially independent coverage here. Over 60 Indian pharmaceutical suppliers have exported synthetic opioid pills worth almost Rs 1,220 crore - or US $130 million - to West African nations. Most of the destination countries had not approved the drug, and have an opioid abuse problem.
India Ships 320 Million Unapproved Opioid Pills to West Africa ...
... Africa, Fueling Street Crisis: Bellingcat Investigation (18-04-2026). New Delhi, 18 April 2026: Indian pharmaceutical companies have exported more than 320 ...
