NewStats: 3,265,442 , 8,186,759 topics. Date: Sunday, 15 June 2025 at 01:01 AM 2b73

India’s Opioid Kings: Pharmaceutical Firm Behind West Africa’s Drug Crisis Unmasked

By Leadership News


A shocking BBC Eye Investigation has uncovered how an Indian pharmaceutical company, Aveo Pharmaceuticals, was illegally manufacturing and exporting highly addictive opioids to West Africa, fueling a growing public health crisis.

The Mumbai-based company produced unlicensed pills containing a dangerous combination of tapentadol, a potent opioid, and carisoprodol, a banned muscle relaxant. These drugs, marketed under various brand names, were being widely sold on the streets of Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, despite being illegal in these countries.

A BBC undercover operative, posing as a Nigerian businessman, infiltrated Aveo’s factory and secretly filmed a company director, Vinod Sharma, openly promoting the dangerous pills.

In the footage published by the BBC, Sharma acknowledged the harmful effects of the drugs but dismisses concerns, saying, “This is very harmful for their health—but nowadays, this is business.”

The devastating impact of the opioids is evident in West Africa. In Tamale, Ghana, an increasing number of young people are addicted to the drugs, prompting local chief Alhassan Maham to form a volunteer task force to seize and destroy illicit pills.

In Nigeria, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), warned that opioids are “devastating our youths, our families, and every community in Nigeria.”

According to BBC World Service/BBC Eye report, “Indian law prohibits the manufacture and export of unlicensed drugs unless they meet the importing country’s regulations, however, Aveo has been shipping these opioids to Ghana, violating Indian and international drug laws. The Indian drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), stated that the government was committed to preventing illegal pharmaceutical exports and has pledged to take immediate action against any companies involved in malpractice.”

Officials from Nigeria’s drug enforcement agencies, including NAFDAC and the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), confirmed that efforts were underway to crack down on illegal opioid distribution network. Recent raids in Lagos State and other cities have led to multiple arrests and the seizure of billions of naira worth of illicit drugs.

Public health advocates are calling for stronger diplomatic pressure on India to hold Aveo Pharmaceuticals able.

For instance, the executive director of Corporate ability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, emphasised the need for punitive action, stating, “If you don’t get punished for a crime, you will do it again.”

The BBC’s findings have sparked outrage, with calls for tighter international controls on pharmaceutical exports. As the crisis deepens, authorities in West Africa continue to battle the influx of illegal opioids, hoping to protect future generations from the devastating consequences of addiction.

https://leadership.ng/indias-opioid-kings-pharmaceutical-firm-behind-west-africas-drug-crisis-unmasked/

Name their Nigerian cohorts.

we know the part of this country involved

Saga16:
Name their Nigerian cohorts.

Is this really necessary?

We all know them na 😂

Okay

What's their aim

A BBC undercover operative, posing as a Nigerian businessman

Why not simply pose as an under-cover agent? Why pose as a Nigerian?

These drugs, marketed under various brand names, were being widely sold on the streets of Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, despite being illegal in these countries.

Name the drug or the brand.

or is it another brand of tramadol?

Tjra:

Is this really necessary?

We all know them na 😂

Ok

Islie:
India’s Opioid Kings: Pharmaceutical Firm Behind West Africa’s Drug Crisis Unmasked




https://leadership.ng/indias-opioid-kings-pharmaceutical-firm-behind-west-africas-drug-crisis-unmasked/

Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN)
This is supposed to be an investigative reporting yet you don't know that no such organization with such name exists in Nigeria. Smh.

Aveo may be wrecking them in Ghana but if they get caught in Nigeria, they are in big soup!

Hidusm

Omo i go like to try this Opium one day

Trucks for sale!
Whatsapp or call:08025312157

Pootle:
we know the part of this country involved

Sure,they don't disappoint when it comes to this kind of crime.

Verydarkman Challenge EFCC to Arrest him after Spraying Money at a club

Watch video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXhrybieE10

https:///?agb=r189


Instead of wasting your time on nairaland

this forum to start making money


Earning prove

77designsng:


Name the drug or the brand.

or is it another brand of tramadol?

Why you dey like this na. We know the drugs na.. Molly, rophynol aka 542, Codeine. All these drugs carry Opioid in them.


Molly full street like water these days. If you take molly you no go ever feel tired and sleep no go fi come. You no go hungry and you fi drink one bottle of Gordons alone without any much effect. Na later body go come dey tell you

Saga16:

not dem qe know him

Merchants of death

People beware, run for your life

These drugs na die o

What about those who patronize them? Wicked people

Hmm

What are the drug names ?

Also ,BBC always like to chook mouth in other countries' problem and paint them bad but absolve themselves. There are UK companies that sell unvetted drugs in Nigeria market as well .

Mkpumiri addict from the 5% no go learn.

Say no to drugs....

Racoon:
Why not simply pose as an under-cover agent? Why pose as a Nigerian?

Read what you wrote again.
So the person will visit the company and tell them that he is an undercover agent?

Saga16:
Name their Nigerian cohorts.

u dey find trouble dis evening ?

Judolisco:
u dey find trouble dis evening ?

Racoon:
Why not simply pose as an under-cover agent? Why pose as a Nigerian?

An undercover agent must also have a nationality. Nigerians are victims.

Pootle:
we know the part of this country involved

Which part of the country are you talking about?

killuminati:
Why you dey like this na. We know the drugs na.. Molly, rophynol aka 542, Codeine. All these drugs carry Opioid in them.


Molly full street like water these days. If you take molly you no go ever feel tired and sleep no go fi come. You no go hungry and you fi drink one bottle of Gordons alone without any much effect. Na later body go come dey tell you

No blame me, its strange to me