Ashraf Engineer
July 26, 2025
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Hello and welcome to All Indians Matter. I am Ashraf Engineer.
A few months ago, a US intelligence report said India is emerging as a player in the illegal fentanyl trade. The report came in the wake of President Donald Trump threatening a tariff war against countries he thinks are not doing enough to stop the drug from coming into the US. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that is at the centre of a drug crisis in the US and has become a high priority for its government. Overdose deaths from fentanyl are common. For years, China has been the largest source of fentanyl’s legal supplies for severe pain relief as well as the illicit supplies. For the latter, the chemicals needed are sent to Mexico, processed in labs there and the final product smuggled across the border. Mexico-based cartels, such as Sinaloa and Jalisco, are the dominant producers and suppliers. Now, according to the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment report published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, India’s role in the illegal trade is becoming more prominent.
SIGNATURE TUNE
India has long been a global leader in generic drug manufacture and supplies a large proportion of the world’s vaccines and medicines. The pharmaceutical industry is so large, it is often called the ‘pharmacy of the world’.
How does India figure in the US opioid crisis? The US Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, makes it clear that China is the primary source of the chemicals needed to make fentanyl. However, India, with its vast pharma and chemical industries, is emerging as a source for the precursor chemicals.
A DEA report in 2020 said that a Chinese crackdown on fentanyl and its precursor chemicals meant that some suppliers shifted to India. These suppliers have connections to Mexican cartels. In fact, in December 2018, the Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell seized 100 kg of the fentanyl precursor chemical NPP and arrested four people. That same year, individuals attempting to traffic 10 kg of fentanyl to Mexico were also arrested.
The fear is that, if this trafficking is not dealt with soon, it would harm India-US relations. The US was India’s largest trading partner in 2024, with $120 billion in trade.
So, what exactly is fentanyl? It was developed in 1960 by Paul Janssen, a Belgian pharmacologist, to help patients with severe pain, such as those undergoing surgery or cancer treatment. Later, the drug emerged as a powerful synthetic opioid, 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is so strong that a derivative is used as a tranquiliser for large animals like elephants. A synthetic opioid is one that requires precursor chemicals for manufacture.
In 2023, more than 74,000 Americans died after taking drug mixtures containing fentanyl, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. It is frequently mixed with other drugs and as little as two milligrams – roughly the size of a pencil tip – can be fatal. Worryingly, global fentanyl supply is expanding fast, making life tougher for law enforcement agencies.
What are the Indian laws when it comes to fentanyl? We have the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, or NDPS, Act of 1985, which has been regularly amended to address new challenges. In 2015, fentanyl was classified as an Essential Narcotic Drug, simplifying its regulation for medical use. But, this also unintentionally helped illicit production. In 2018, India restricted the export of fentanyl precursors NPP and ANPP and there was a further tightening when they were moved to Schedule A of the NDPS (RCS) Order, 2013. Precursor chemicals classified under Schedule A have the greatest potential for use in illegal drugs.
As I mentioned earlier, the scale of India’s chemical and pharma industries enables nearly unchecked illicit activity. India is the world’s largest manufacturer of NPP. As per international treaties, it should undergo strict supervision in manufacture and distribution. However, shipments of NPP are often sent to questionable and unverifiable destinations.
In 2019, the International Narcotics Control Board found that some international sales were being done through India without appropriate regulatory agencies being informed. How these shipments were used by some buyers could not be ascertained either.
There are several measures international agencies recommend for regulating the fentanyl trade from India. For one, Indian chemical and pharma firms should undergo regular and unannounced inspections by experts and international observers.
The Indian government should have a strong partnership with China and the US to share narcotics intelligence. For example, the 2018 arrests were a result of DEA intelligence and Indian cooperation.
China, particularly, can be a key partner in India’s efforts to control synthetic opioids. The collaboration should also involve Pakistan too, as militants there routinely distribute opioids to large populations of Indian users. Roughly 45% of all opioids exported from Afghanistan first stop in Pakistan, from where they are redistributed to international destinations.
India can also reevaluate its drug control network to streamline communication with the US and China. This cooperation should include intelligence sharing, law enforcement and military partnerships, as well as monitoring points of exit.
Advanced technology in fentanyl detection is necessary too. For example, liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry has shown promise in detecting fentanyl among post-mortem biological samples. This is critical because new fentanyl analogs are getting popular and require effective detection.
There is a lot at stake for all the countries involved. It’s not just public health but also a question of relationships between them, which could affect wider trade and economic ties.
Thank you all for listening. Please visit allindiansmatter.in for more columns and audio podcasts. You can follow me on Twitter at @AshrafEngineer and @AllIndiansCount. Search for the All Indians Matter page on Facebook. On Instagram, the handle is @AllIndiansMatter. Email me at editor@allindiansmatter.in. Catch you again soon.
