Vice-president of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons
In a damning exposé, prominent governance analyst and Vice President of the think tank IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has alleged that powerful individuals in Ghana are facilitating the illegal importation and distribution of dangerous opioids into the country.
His claims follow a recent BBC documentary that revealed how Indian-made opioids, particularly Tafrodol, are flooding Ghana’s market, leading to a growing addiction epidemic.
In his write-up sighted by GhanaWeb, Simons highlighted that Ghana has become a key entry point for these opioids, with millions of pills being distributed locally and across West Africa.
He cited customs data showing that Indian companies such as Aveo, Westfin International, and PRG Pharma have been exporting these drugs to Ghanaian companies, including Samospharma, a local pharmaceutical firm.
Despite denials from Samospharma, Simons pointed to evidence suggesting the company’s involvement in the trade.
“As far as the export data was concerned, the company has not been smuggling in these items. It has been trading in the open with established firms in India and elsewhere to the tune of millions of dollars. My conclusion, therefore, was that it was operating with the full knowledge of the authorities.
“What is more, Samospharma’s founders are highly respectable members of the pharmaceutical industry. They are, furthermore, the visionaries behind a widely acclaimed digital platform, DrugNet, designed to ensure the safe delivery of high-quality medicines and to prevent the trade in substandard pharmaceutical products,” he wrote.
FDA’s failures and murkiness
Simons also criticized Ghana’s regulatory bodies, including the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), for failing to address the crisis effectively.
While the FDA confirmed that Tafrodol and its components are not registered in Ghana and are therefore illegal, it also revealed that Samospharma has legitimate business relationships with Aveo and Westfin for other products.
This contradiction, according to Simons, demonstrates a deliberate lack of transparency and accountability.
“Despite the FDA’s emphatic confirmation that these drugs are illegal from the outset, the National Security Agencies and the preventive units within the Customs agencies continue to pretend that they have no information to tackle the menace head-on. They continue to talk in very broad and general terms about stopping the flow of opioids, the same talk we have been hearing for a decade,” he added.
Powerful forces at play
Simons alleged that the opioid trade is being orchestrated by powerful individuals within Ghana’s political, business, and bureaucratic circles.
He argued that these forces are deliberately creating confusion to shield themselves from scrutiny.
“Everything converges upon my initial theory: the whole saga isn’t adding up because someone or a group of very powerful people in Ghana with tentacles crisscrossing politics, business, and the bureaucracy, and protected by a shield transcending political administrations is the mastermind behind these opioid massacres,” he wrote.
International implications
Bright Simons noted that some of the drugs imported into Ghana are being smuggled into neighboring countries, including Niger, where proceeds from the trade are allegedly funding armed insurgencies and contributing to regional instability.
“We have had Nigeriens and other Sahelians using Ghana as an open gateway to import millions of dollars’ worth of these opioids. We now know that some of this money is fueling the armed insurgencies and other forms of insecurity plaguing the subcontinent,” he added.
Bright Simons called on Ghanaian authorities to take decisive action to stem the flow of opioids into the country.
Read the full write-up below:
Someone very powerful wants to flood Ghana with poisons – Bright Simons
ID/MA
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