India Ships Over 300 Million Synthetic Opioid Pills to West Africa Amid Crisis

Indian companies have exported more than 300 million tapentadol pills to West Africa over the past three years, according to a Bellingcat investigation. Tapentadol, a synthetic opioid two to three times stronger than tramadol, has not been approved by most West African regulators, where an opioid epidemic is escalating.

The exports, valued at nearly $130 million, were tracked using trade data from 52wmb and ImportGenius. Over 1,400 consignments of tapentadol were sent between January 2023 and December 2025, with Sierra Leone and Ghana receiving over 80% of the shipments by value. These coastal nations are grappling with severe drug abuse issues.

This surge in tapentadol exports reflects how traffickers adapt to stricter regulations on tramadol, which was controlled more stringently starting in 2018. The INCB noted that traffickers shifted to other synthetic opioids like tapentadol as a result. In 2021, the BBC revealed Aveo Pharmaceuticals' illegal export of tapentadol and carisoprodol combinations, prompting India's CDSCO to ban such exports.

West African authorities have intercepted significant quantities of tapentadol, including Ghana’s NACOC seizing over 3.7 million tablets since 2022. Sierra Leone declared a national emergency in 2024 due to the opioid crisis and has made several seizures, though some agencies did not respond to requests for comment.

This situation underscores the urgent need for international cooperation to combat synthetic opioid trafficking, highlighting the public health risks posed by unregulated drug flows.