The Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Bright Simons, has provided a detailed breakdown of the opioid crisis uncovered in the latest BBC Africa Eye documentary.
According to the documentary, two Indian companies, Aveo Pharmaceuticals and Westfin International, manufacture and smuggle illegal drugs such as Tafrodol and Super Royal.
Bright Simons described this as the “invention of poison,” emphasizing that these drug formulations have not been approved anywhere in the world.
However, these drugs are being smuggled into West Africa, particularly Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire.
He further explained that, in Ghana’s case, these drugs are not being smuggled but are instead being legally imported.
In the documentary, the manufacturers acknowledged that Nigeria has tightened its borders, making Ghana the easiest channel for transporting the drugs.
By now, many of us may have watched the BBC Africa Eye documentary about the opioid crisis that is beginning to overwhelm West Africa.
Simons added that the most alarming aspects of the documentary do not even fully capture the extent of Ghana’s involvement in the trade.
On February 22, 2024, he wrote on X, “All the craziness above, something else, that was not discussed further in the documentary, is what truly blew my mind. Even before the documentary aired. It is Samospharma’s role as Ghana’s biggest opioid importer.
“Customs data and intelligence shows that a large chunk of the tafrodol, tapendatol & carisoprodol batches imported into Ghana is financed by Sahelian merchants, mostly based in Niamey. However, one Ghanaian company stands head to toe with them: Samospharma,” he added.
According to him, by November 2024, this company had imported more than $6 million worth of opioids and other drugs from PRG Pharma of India.
“It also imported perfectly legal “eye drops” from the likes of Zuche and Indiana Pharma. As was shown in the documentary, Samospharma and its three founders are the main business partners of Vinod and Aveo in Ghana, as well as of Aveo’s sister company, Westfin.
“Of the $20 million worth of opioids that Aveo has shipped to the region in recent times, Samospharma was responsible for about 12%,” he noted.
He continued by revealing that he was particularly alarmed for three reasons, one of which is DrugNet’s relationship with Samospharma.
DrugNet is a modern online pharmacy that provides pharmaceutical services to clients.
Bright Simons wrote, “Why was I completely bewildered by this? Three reasons. First, the founders of Samospharma are behind acclaimed platforms like DrugNet, and have been industry advisors to Ghana’s national e-pharmacy portal. They are respected in the pharmacy profession for their youthful acumen and public engagements.”
“Second, their core work at DrugNet and through various industry initiatives has focused on tightening supply chain and quality assurance, subjects that I know a bit about. Their involvement in this whole saga simply doesn’t add up,” he added.
Shockingly, he added that the above has not been the “craziest” side of the scandal but the fact that the drugs are not infact being smuggled but imported directly into the country.
“Most bewildering of all, they have NOT been smuggling in these opioids. They have been OPENLY importing them into Ghana. Attached is a list of lading bills covering some recent shipments. The Ghanaian authorities have been authorising clearance even though Samospharma hasn’t registered any of these products with the FDA.
“I was thus shocked when the authorities attempted to throw the importers under the bus in their interviews with the BBC. It is very clear that Ghana is happily letting these opioids through. Even now. Despite the loud protests about the addiction epidemic opioids are causing. Despite the occasional seizures and bonfires. Ghana’s ports remain open,” he wrote.
“What exactly is the national policy here?” he questioned.
SSD/MA
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By now, many of us must have watched the BBC Africa Eye documentary about the crazy opioid crisis starting to overwhelm West Africa.
1. Recap: a chap by name Vinod Sharma runs a pharma company in India called Aveo that has “invented” a poison by mixing two powerful drugs -… pic.twitter.com/QjOI2UG9Ls
— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) February 22, 2025
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