India named by US as a top source of fentanyl precursors

Intelligence report casts doubts on licensed drugmakers, may prompt govt crackdown

- Rohini Mohan

BENGALURU - A US intelligence report that identifies India as one of the top sources of fentanyl precursors could prompt New Delhi to crack down on licensed manufacturers of the chemicals, which have medical applications.

Fentanyl is a habit-forming synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It was linked to 52,000 deaths in the US during a 12-month period ending October 2024.

Experts and drug manufacturers said fentanyl is a small business in India. They said that among more than 3,000 pharmaceutical companies there, only around a dozen licensed manufacturers make fentanyl, and even fewer produce fentanyl precursors, which are not controlled.

The US intelligence report, released on March 25, says India has emerged as a major player in the illicit fentanyl trade, casting doubt on whether all industry players are as law-abiding as they appear.

Three Indian companies have been indicted in 2025 for selling fentanyl precursors to the US.

In mid-March, US federal agents in New York arrested two senior executives of Hyderabad-based Vasudha Pharma Chem for shipping 25kg of a fentanyl precursor, dubbed N-Boc-4-piperidone, to New York.

The proprietor of one Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, who requested anonymity, told The Sunday Times: "We were shocked to hear about Vasudha because it is a highly reputed company, a multigenerational firm that has been legally producing fentanyl precursors among its huge pharma portfolio for years."

He added: "(Fentanyl precursor production) is so legal that it is displayed on its website, even in presentations, in conferences."