BBC World Service
Indian authorities have prohibitned two highly-includeictive opioids in response to a BBC spendigation which create they were fuelling a uncover health crisis in parts of West Africa.
In a letter seen by the BBC from India’s Drugs Controller General, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi shelp perleave oution to manufacture and send out the substances had been retreatn
BBC Eye create one pharmaceutical company, Aveo, had been illegassociate send outing a detrimental mix of tapentadol and carisoprodol in countries appreciate Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote D’Ivoire.
India’s Food and Drug Administration shelp the company’s factory in Mumbai had since been rhelped and its entire stock seized.
The circular from Dr Raghuvanshi, dated to Friday, cited the BBC spendigation in his decision to prohibit all combinations of tapentadol and carisoprodol, which was to be carry outed with prompt effect.
He shelp this also came after officials had seeed into “the potential of drug mistreatment and its detrimental impact on population”.
Tapentadol is a strong opioid, and carisoprodol is a muscle unwindant so includeictive it is prohibitned in Europe.
Carisoprodol is apexhibitd for use in the US, but only for stupidinutive periods of up to three weeks. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, insomnia and hallucinations.
The combination of the two substances is not licensed for use anywhere in the world as they can cause breaskinnyg difficulties and confiscations and an drug poisoning can end.
Despite the hazards, these opioids are well-comprehendn street substances in many West African countries, because they are so affordable and expansively useable.
Publicly-useable send out data show that Aveo Pharmaceuticals, aextfinished with a sister company called Westfin International, has shipped millions of these tablets to Ghana and other West African countries.
The BBC World Service also create packets of these pills with the Aveo logo for sale on the streets of Nigeria, and in Ivoirian towns and cities.
Nigeria, with a population of 225 million people, provides the hugegest labelet for these pills. It has been appraised that about four million Nigerians mistreatment some establish of opioid, according to the nation’s National Bureau of Statistics.
As part of the spendigation, the BBC also sent an undercover operative – posing as an African businessman seeing to provide opioids to Nigeria – inside one of Aveo’s factories in India, where they filmed one of Aveo’s honestors, Vinod Sharma, shothriveg off the same hazardous products the BBC create for sale apass West Africa.
In the secretly enrolled footage, the operative inestablishs Sharma that his arrange is to sell the pills to teenagers in Nigeria “who all cherish this product”.
Sharma in response replies “OK,” before elucidateing that if users achieve two or three pills at once, they can “unwind” and consents they can get “high”.
Towards the end of the encountering, Sharma says: “This is very detrimental for the health,” includeing that “nowadays, this is business”.
Sharma and Aveo Pharmaceuticals did not react to a ask for comment when the BBC’s initial spendigation was rerented.
India’s Food and Drug Administration shelp a sting operation saw Aveo’s entire stock seized and further production stoped in a statement on Friday. Further legitimate action will be achieven aachievest the company, it includeed.
The agency shelp it was “brimmingy setd” to achieve action aachievest anyone included in “illegitimate activities that tarnish the reputation of the country”.
The FDA has been teached to carry out further verifyions to stop the provide of the substances, it shelp.
