By Sola Ogundipe

Two unregistered and highly-addictive opioids illegally imported into some West African countries from India, have been banned by the Indian Food and Drug Administration.

Last week, a BBC Eye investigation exposed how Aveo Pharmaceuticals, a Mumbai-based company was illegally exporting a harmful mix of tapentadol and carisoprodol into Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote d’Ivoire – fueling a public health crisis in parts of West Africa.

The hammer fell on the drugs following a raid by India’s Food and Drug Administration on the indicted factory in a sting operation that saw Aveo’s entire stock seized and further production halted on Friday, even as further legal action is to l be taken against the company.

India’s Drugs Controller General, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi has also withdrawn permission to manufacture or export the drugs. The ban covers all combinations of tapentadol and carisoprodol.

Quoting a letter from Raghuvanshi in an update, the BBC stated  that permission to manufacture and export the drugs has been withdrawn with immediate effect.

It quoted the agency saying that it was “fully prepared” to take action against anyone involved in “illegal activities that tarnish the reputation of the country”. The FDA has been instructed to carry out further inspections to prevent the supply of the drugs, it said.

Tapentadol is a strong opioid while carisoprodol is a muscle relaxant so addictive it is banned in Europe. Although the US allows short-term use (up to three weeks), withdrawal causes anxiety, insomnia, and hallucinations. 

A combination of the two drugs is not licensed for use anywhere in the world as they can cause breathing difficulties and seizures and an overdose can kill.

But despite the dangers, the opioids are popular street drugs in many West African countries, because they are so cheap and widely available. Export data show that Aveo and a sister company called Westfin International, has shipped millions of these tablets to West African countries.

Nigeria, with a population of 225 million people, provides the biggest market for these pills. It has been estimated that about four million Nigerians abuse some form of opioid, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

As part of the investigation, the BBC also sent an undercover operative – posing as an African businessman looking to supply opioids to Nigeria – inside one of Aveo’s factories in India, where they filmed one of Aveo’s directors, Vinod Sharma, showing off the same dangerous products the BBC found for sale across West Africa.

The agent told Sharma he planned to sell to Nigerian teenagers. He said they loved the product. Sharma said “OK”. He explained two or three pills would help users “relax” and get “high”. Sharma later admitted the product was “very harmful”. He added, “nowadays, this is business”.

Sharma and Aveo Pharmaceuticals did not respond to a request for comment when the BBC’s initial investigation was published. The BBC  also found packets of the pills with the Aveo logo for sale on the streets of Nigeria and in Cote d’Ivoire.