IMANI Africa’s Vice President, Bright Simons, has accused influential figures in Ghana of playing a role in the unauthorized entry and spread of dangerous opioids in the country.
His assertions follow a recent BBC investigation that uncovered the influx of Indian-manufactured opioids, particularly Tafrodol, into Ghana’s markets, worsening the country’s addiction crisis.
In a detailed write-up, Mr Simons revealed that Ghana serves as a major gateway for these substances, with large quantities being distributed locally and across West Africa.
Citing customs documentation, he named Indian firms such as Aveo, Westfin International, and PRG Pharma as suppliers of these drugs to Ghanaian companies, including Samospharma.
While Samospharma has denied any connection, Mr Simons provided evidence suggesting the company’s involvement in the trade.
“As far as the export data was concerned, the company has not been smuggling in these items. It has been trading in the open with established firms in India and elsewhere to the tune of millions of dollars. My conclusion, therefore, was that it was operating with the full knowledge of the authorities.
“What is more, Samospharma’s founders are highly respectable members of the pharmaceutical industry. They are, furthermore, the visionaries behind a widely acclaimed digital platform, DrugNet, designed to ensure the safe delivery of high-quality medicines and to prevent the trade in substandard pharmaceutical products,” he wrote.
Mr Simons took aim at Ghana’s regulatory agencies, particularly the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), accusing them of failing to tackle the opioid crisis effectively.
The FDA clarified that Tafrodol and its ingredients are not approved in Ghana, making them illegal. However, it also acknowledged that Samospharma has authorized dealings with Aveo and Westfin for other pharmaceutical products.
Mr Simons argued that this inconsistency highlights serious transparency issues and weak enforcement within the regulatory framework.
“Despite the FDA’s emphatic confirmation that these drugs are illegal from the outset, the National Security Agencies and the preventive units within the Customs agencies continue to pretend that they have no information to tackle the menace head-on. They continue to talk in very broad and general terms about stopping the flow of opioids, the same talk we have been hearing for a decade,” he added.
Simons claimed that influential figures in Ghana’s government, business sector, and bureaucracy are behind the opioid trade.
He suggested that these individuals are intentionally spreading confusion to divert attention and avoid accountability.
“Everything converges upon my initial theory: the whole saga isn’t adding up because someone or a group of very powerful people in Ghana with tentacles crisscrossing politics, business, and the bureaucracy, and protected by a shield transcending political administrations is the mastermind behind these opioid massacres,” he wrote.
