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BBC Investigation Exposes Indian Agency Supplying Unlawful Opioids to West Africa
A stunning BBC Eye Investigation has uncovered how an Indian pharmaceutical firm, Aveo Prescription drugs, has been illegally manufacturing and exporting extremely addictive opioids to West Africa, worsening an already crucial public well being disaster within the area.
The Mumbai-based firm was discovered to be producing unlicensed tablets containing a harmful mixture of tapentadol, a strong opioid, and carisoprodol, a banned muscle relaxant. These illicit medicine, disguised beneath varied model names, have flooded the streets of Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, regardless of being unlawful in these nations.
Undercover Footage Exposes Pharma Government
As a part of the investigation, a BBC undercover reporter, posing as a Nigerian businessman, infiltrated Aveo Prescription drugs’ manufacturing unit. Secretly recorded footage revealed Vinod Sharma, an organization director, overtly selling the dangerous tablets whereas downplaying their devastating penalties.
Within the footage, Sharma admits to the risks of the medicine however dismisses issues, stating:“That is very dangerous for his or her well being—however these days, that is enterprise.”
The Opioid Disaster in West Africa
The impression of those illicit opioids is clear throughout West Africa, significantly in Tamale, Ghana, the place a rising variety of younger individuals have change into addicted. In response, native chief Alhassan Maham has shaped a volunteer job power to grab and destroy the damaging tablets.
In Nigeria, the chairman of the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd.), warned that opioids are “devastating our youths, our households, and each neighborhood in Nigeria.”
Authorities have launched crackdowns to fight the inflow of those unlawful medicine. Nigerian regulatory businesses, together with NAFDAC and the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), confirmed that raids in Lagos and different main cities have resulted in a number of arrests and the seizure of illicit medicine value billions of naira.
Authorized Violations and Requires Accountability
Based on the BBC World Service/BBC Eye report, Indian regulation prohibits the manufacture and export of unlicensed medicine except they meet the importing nation’s laws. Nevertheless, Aveo Prescription drugs has been delivery these opioids to Ghana in violation of each Indian and worldwide drug legal guidelines.
The Indian drug regulator, the Central Medicine Normal Management Organisation (CDSCO), has responded to the BBC’s findings, pledging to take fast motion in opposition to firms engaged in unlawful pharmaceutical exports.
Public well being advocates at the moment are demanding diplomatic strain on India to carry Aveo Prescription drugs accountable. Akinbode Oluwafemi, Government Director of Company Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), insists that punitive motion have to be taken, stating:“When you don’t get punished for a criminal offense, you’ll do it once more.”
Rising World Issues
The BBC’s revelations have sparked widespread outrage, with growing requires tighter worldwide controls on pharmaceutical exports. Because the opioid disaster continues to unfold, authorities in West Africa are racing in opposition to time to curb unlawful drug trafficking and shield weak communities from the devastating results of dependancy.
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