Customs seize Tramadol worth Rs 110 crore in Gujarat set for fraudulent export to west Africa

Ahmedabad, July 29

The Customs department at Mundra port in Gujarat’s Kutch district seized 68 lakh Tramadol tablets worth Rs 110 crore from two export containers destined for the West African countries of Sierra Leone and Niger.

Tramadol has gained notoriety in recent times as the ‘fighter drug’ after it was reported that ISIS fighters consume it to stay awake for long hours, said a PIB release on Monday.

Tramadol, an opioid pain medication, was notified as a psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act in 2018 and its export is restricted.

This seizure by Mundra Customs is among the largest seizure of Tramadol since it was notified under the NDPS Act, said the release.

“Based on specific intelligence gathered by Special Intelligence & Investigation Branch of Mundra Customs, two export consignments of a Rajkot-based merchant exporter were intercepted and examined at Mundra port on Sunday. In the official documents, the merchant exporter has declared the shipment contains Diclofenac and Gebedol tablets,” said the release.

“While the declared item was found in the front-end of the container, detailed examination revealed boxes containing undeclared medicine strips having labels as ‘Tramaking 225’ and ‘Royal-225’, both containing Tramadol Hydrochloride Tablet 225 mg. Neither the strips nor the boxes had any details of the manufacturer,” the release added.

A total of around 68 lakh tablets of Tramadol with an international street price of around Rs 110 crore were recovered by the Customs officers during the examination, and follow-up searches are underway at Rajkot, Gandhinagar and Gandhidham, said the release.

The synthetic opioid drug is reportedly in high demand in African nations like Nigeria and Ghana.