India-Sourced Tapentadol Floods West Africa Amid Escalating Opioid Crisis

A surge in tapentadol exports from India to West Africa is fueling a deepening opioid epidemic across the region, field reports and export data confirm. Over the past three years, India sent more than 320 million potent synthetic opioid pills worth nearly $130 million to West Africa, with Sierra Leone and Ghana emerging as primary destinations. This spike reflects a broader shift from tramadol trafficking to alternative pharmaceuticals, as international controls tighten. Tapentadol, a painkiller