BBC Exposes Indian Pharma Firm Fueling Opioid Crisis in West Africa.
BBC Eye Investigations | BBC World Servic.
An undercover investigation by the BBC has revealed that an Indian pharmaceutical company, Aveo Pharmaceuticals, based in Mumbai, is manufacturing unlicensed, highly addictive opioids and illegally exporting them to West Africa. These drugs are fueling a major public health crisis in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote D'Ivoire.
Aveo produces a range of pills marketed under various brand names, packaged to resemble legitimate medicines. However, all contain a dangerous mix of tapentadol, a potent opioid, and carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant so addictive it is banned in Europe. This combination, unlicensed globally, can cause breathing difficulties, seizures, and even fatal overdoses. Despite the risks, these opioids are widely available and cheap, making them popular as street drugs in West Africa.
The BBC World Service discovered packets of these drugs, branded with the Aveo logo, being sold openly in towns and cities across Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote D'Ivoire. Tracing the drugs back to Aveo's factory in India, the BBC sent an undercover operative posing as an African businessman seeking to supply opioids to Nigeria. Using hidden cameras, the operative filmed Aveo director Vinod Sharma showcasing the same dangerous products found in West Africa.
In the footage, the operative explains his plan to sell the pills to Nigerian teenagers, who "all love this product." Sharma responds indifferently, stating that users can "relax" and get "high" by taking two or three pills at once. He acknowledges the harm, remarking, "This is very harmful for the health," but adds, "nowadays, this is business."
A Crisis Devastating West Africa
The illegal opioid trade is wreaking havoc on communities across West Africa. In Tamale, northern Ghana, local chief Alhassan Maham has formed a voluntary task force of 100 citizens to raid drug dealers and remove these pills from the streets. "The drugs consume the sanity of those who abuse them," Maham says, likening their effect to "a fire burns when kerosene is poured on it." One addict in Tamale lamented, "The drugs have wasted our lives."
During a raid in one of Tamale's poorest neighborhoods, the BBC team witnessed the task force apprehend a dealer carrying a plastic bag filled with green pills labeled Tafrodol, stamped with Aveo's logo. Similar seizures have occurred elsewhere in Ghana, as well as in Nigeria and Cote D'Ivoire, where teenagers dissolve the pills in alcoholic energy drinks to intensify the high.
A Growing Market for Dangerous Drugs
Publicly available export data shows that Aveo Pharmaceuticals, along with its sister company Westfin International, is shipping millions of these tablets to Ghana and other West African countries. Nigeria, with a population of 225 million, is the largest market, with an estimated four million Nigerians abusing some form of opioid, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
Brig Gen Mohammed Buba Marwa, Chairman of Nigeria's Drug and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), told the BBC that opioids are "devastating our youths, our families, it's in every community in Nigeria."
Evading Regulation
In 2018, following a BBC Africa Eye investigation into the street sale of opioids, Nigerian authorities cracked down on the widely abused painkiller tramadol, banning its sale without a prescription and imposing strict limits on dosage. Indian authorities also tightened export regulations on tramadol.
However, Aveo Pharmaceuticals soon began exporting a new pill combining tapentadol, an even stronger opioid, with carisoprodol. West African officials warn that these new combination pills are being used as substitutes for tramadol to evade the crackdown.
Inside Aveo's factory, cartons of these drugs were stacked almost to the ceiling. Sharma displayed packets of the tapentadol-carisoprodol cocktail, marketed under names like Tafrodol, TimaKing, and Super Royal-225. He boasted that his factory's "scientists" could combine different drugs to "make a new product."
A Deadly Combination
Dr. Lekhansh Shukla, assistant professor at India's National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, described the combination as "very dangerous." Tapentadol induces deep sleep, which can suppress breathing, while carisoprodol amplifies the effect. Withdrawal symptoms are severe, including anxiety, insomnia, and hallucinations.
Unlike tramadol, which is legal in limited doses, the tapentadol-carisoprodol cocktail is unlicensed and irrational, according to Dr. Shukla. In India, pharmaceutical companies cannot legally manufacture and export unlicensed drugs unless they meet the importing country's standards. However, Aveo ships Tafrodol to Ghana, where the combination is unlicensed and illegal, violating Indian law.
Regulatory Failures and Global Impact
The BBC confronted Vinod Sharma and Aveo Pharmaceuticals with these allegations, but they did not respond. The Indian drugs regulator, CDSCO, stated that India is committed to global public health and enforces strict export regulations. It called on importing countries to strengthen their regulatory systems and pledged to take immediate action against any pharmaceutical firm involved in malpractice.
Aveo is not alone in this illicit trade. Export data suggests other Indian companies are manufacturing similar unlicensed opioids, damaging the reputation of India's pharmaceutical industry, which produces high-quality generic medicines and vaccines relied upon worldwide.
A Call for Action
The BBC's undercover operative, whose identity remains concealed for safety, reflected on his meeting with Sharma: "Nigerian journalists have been reporting on this opioid crisis for over 20 years, but finally, I was face to face with one of the men at the root of Africa's opioid crisis. He knew the harm it was doing but didn't seem to care, describing it simply as business."
In Tamale, the local task force burned seized packets of Tafrodol in a public park, sending a message to dealers and suppliers. Yet, as the flames consumed a few hundred packets, the manufacturers in India continued producing millions more, profiting from the devastation they cause.
The opioid crisis in West Africa is a stark reminder of the global consequences of unregulated pharmaceutical practices and the urgent need for international cooperation to combat this growing threat.
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