India prohibits two drugs behind the opioid crisis in West Africa

Indian authorities have banned two high -ranking opioids in response to an investigation into the BBC, which found themselves nourishing a public health crisis in parts of West Africa.

In a letter seen by the BBC by the General Drug Controller in India, Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi stated that a permit for the production and export of medicines was withdrawn

BBC Eye found that a pharmaceutical company, Aveo, was illegally exposed A detrimental combination of Tempentadol and Carizoprodol in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Kot D’Ivoire.

The Food and Medicines Administration in India said the company’s factory in Mumbai has since been attacked and its entire stock.

The Raghuvanshi circular circular, dated to Friday, quoted the BBC investigation in his decision to ban all the combinations of Tempentadol and Carizoprodol, which had to be applied with immediate effect.

He said it also came after employees have considered “the potential of drug abuse and its harmful impact on the population.”

Tapentadol is a powerful opioid, and Carizoprodol is a muscle relaxant so addictive that it is banned in Europe.

Carizoprodol has been approved for use in the United States, but only for short periods up to three weeks. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, insomnia and hallucinations.

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

Despite the risks, these opioids are popular street drugs in many West African countries because they are so cheap and widely available.

Public -available export data shows that Aveo Pharmaceuticals, along with a nursing company called Westfin International, has delivered millions of these tablets in Ghana and other West African countries.

The BBC World Service also found packages of these Aveo logo pills for sale on the streets of Nigeria and in Ivori cities and cities.

Nigeria, with a population of 225 million, provides the largest market for these pills. It is estimated that about four million Nigerians abuse some form of opioids, according to the National Statistics Bureau of the nation.

As part of the investigation, the BBC also sent an operational undercover – posing as an African businessman who wants to deliver opioids to Nigeria – inside one of the Aveo factories in India, where they filmed one of Aveo’s directors, Vinod Sharma, showing the same dangerous products that BBC has found for sale in West Africa.

In secretly recorded footage, the operatives tells Sharma that his plan is to sell teenage pills in Nigeria, “which everyone loves this product.”

Sharma in response replies “OK” before explaining that if users take two or three pills at a time, they can “relax” and agree that they can get “high”.

Towards the end of the meeting, Sharma says, “It’s very harmful to health,” adding that “it’s business nowadays.”

Sharma and Aveo Pharmaceuticals did not respond to a request for comment when the BBC initial investigation was published.

The Indian Food and Drug Administration said the stinging operation saw that the whole stock of Aveo was seized and further production was stopped in a statement on Friday. Stronger legal action will be taken against the company, he added.

The agency said it was “fully prepared” to take action against anyone involved in “illegal activities that downplay the country’s reputation”.

The FDA has been instructed to carry out additional checks to prevent the delivery of medicines, the message said.