Late last year, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had been tracking a large export consignment of Tramadol, a synthetic opioid, a prescription painkiller that was listed in the Schedule-H of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. For several months, drug enforcement agencies from various countries had been telling their Indian counterparts how there was widespread diversion of Tramadol tablets originating from pharmaceutical units in India.
Having been alerted, the DRI had begun keeping tabs on the exports. One case was proving particularly tough to track because the shipping papers had been switched at the transit port to show a different destination from the one declared. The DRI was able to finally trace the shipment to Nigeria. However, the consignment vanished deep into the African country.
Intelligence reports from international drug enforcement agencies indicated the opioid was getting into the hands of Islamic State fighters in Syria and insurgents in African countries, who had taken to using the drug both as a pain suppressant and resilience booster.
For the manufacturers, exporters, middlemen and the international drug cartels it was a lucrative proposition. Usually priced as low as ₹4 for every 50-mg tablet in the domestic market, Tramadol fetched as much as ₹160 per tablet in the overseas grey market. Officials are unable to provide figures for the size of the illegally diverted export shipments. “The problem compounds when consignments get diverted to countries with a very weak governance environment,” an enforcement officer told this reporter.
“As it turns out, in certain pockets of Egypt too, it has come to our notice that Tramodol abuse is so high that many locals even use it as a form of currency for purchase of other goods and paying cab charges,” the officer said.
As a result of increased vigilance, huge consignments of the drug began to be intercepted in Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Malta.
Widely abused
Information from the DRI also recently led to seizure of major consignments in several African countries, Italy, Vietnam, even the United States. In November last year, at the port of Gioia Tauro, the Italian police seized 24 million Tramadol pills that were, as suspected, meant to be sold to the Islamic State for its fighters in north Africa and the Middle East. Shipped out of India, the consignment was destined for Libya.“Tramadol is often used to mitigate pain during cancer treatment and also for detoxification in case of heroin addicts. But, studies show that there is also a great possibility of Tramadol being abused as a replacement for heroin and other opioids. The drug triggers a feeling of euphoria, numbness, relaxation and out-of-body experience. If consumed regularly in heavy doses, it becomes difficult for the user to quit the drug due to withdrawal symptoms,” a de-addiction expert said.
Such findings were also recorded in a 2012 paper titled “Tramadol Dependence: A Case Series from India” by a group of doctors at the Department of Psychiatry, Drug De-addiction Treatment Centre, PGIMER (Chandigarh). “While this drug is abused in several parts of the country, it is prevalent in Punjab where the addicts, who were earlier hooked to Dextropropoxyphene, switched over to Tramadol after the former was banned,” said the expert who was part of the research team.
With Tramadol fast turning into a global menace, and its wide abuse in India, enforcement agencies like the DRI and the Narcotics Control Bureau petitioned the Government to declare it a psychotropic substance. The Department of Revenue under the Finance Ministry issued a notification to this effect on April 26. The notification brought Tramadol under the purview of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act.
Raids and seizures
Acting on specific intelligence, in the last week of May, the DRI raided two manufacturing units at Valsad in Gujarat and Maharashtra’s Palghar.
The operation led to the seizure of about 13 crore Tramadol tablets/capsules, loose pills weighing more than 4,800 kg and over 900 kg in powder form. The orders had been placed on behalf of a Haryana-based exporter. And again, the ultimate smuggling destination was Nigeria.
For now, a DRI official said, the unlicensed Tramadol manufacturing business has fallen silent after the raids. In the past few weeks, licences of several pharma units have been cancelled and enforcement agencies are keeping a vigil.
