Trafficking tramadol from Pakistan

From Indian factories to African black markets, unlicensed and illegal consignments of tramadol have found a transit point in Karachi. But even as seizures spike, Pakistan is struggling to shut down this deadly pipeline...

- ADIL JAWAD

The first three months of this year witnessed three high-value drug seizures in Karachi involving the drug tramadol, a synthetic opioid painkiller.

In each instance, the highly addictive painkiller was meant for illegal export to West African countries — including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Cote D’Ivoire — where it is fuelling an opioid epidemic. It has also gained notoriety in recent times as the “fighter drug”, after reports that it was used by militants associated with Boko Haram and ISIS to stay awake for long hours.

The drug, also prescribed by health practitioners to wean addicts off heroin, is often misused — through recreational and habitual use — in formulations of doses higher than 100 milligrams (mg), particularly the 225mg and 250mg variants. These high-dosage tablets are in high demand across parts of Africa, where civil conflict, piracy, drug trafficking and limited access to painkillers have created parallel black economies.

According to estimates, a single 250mg tablet sells for up to Rs450 on the international black market. In Pakistan’s underground distribution networks, a strip of 10 can be purchased for Rs360, making it a lucrative market for manufacturers, the majority of which are based in India. But after a spate of controversies, including over the drug’s misuse around the globe and its linkages to extremist outfits, India added tramadol to the list of psychotropic substances in 2018, increasing restrictions on manufacture and export.

A MASSIVE SUPPLY CHAIN

Around the same time, Pakistan witnessed an increase in import — and export — of tramadol.

Pakistan Customs data reveals that, between January 2024 and January 2025, Pakistan imported over 141,000 kilogrammes of raw tramadol — raising red flags, given that local demand is nowhere near this quantity.