Opioid painkillers destined for IS fighters were a legal consignment from India

The Greek authorities which recently seized a massive consignment from the port of Piraeus are investigating the export from India and the intended receiver in Libya for their association in smuggling large shipments of Tramadol with the latter trading the supply to keep the IS militants high and energised on the front-lines. The traces of the consignment containing millions of tiny opioid reliever pills have been found to be shipped from India — a major market for the sale of Tramadol — by an export company based in the by-lanes of old Delhi with the drugs manufactured in Punjab.

Internationally Tramadol is not a controlled drug, its sale for treatment of moderate to severe pain, however, is prohibited over the counter without doctor's prescription and restricted for medical use only. In Greece, the Financial Crime unit confiscated the container from India as it arrived in May. Officially declared as a cargo but allegedly concealing, 479 cartons filled with packets of 26 million pills of Tramadol Hydrochloride 225 mg. This is the biggest drug haul in Greece with an estimated market value of US $13 million.

Located in the eastern Mediterranean port city of Tobruk in Libya which has presence of IS fighters, Al Murooj company is suspected to be dealing with of IS members based in Syria. Earlier another container with opioid painkillers ordered by the same export company was confiscated in Dubai where Tramadol is banned.

Greece has stringent rules and requires special permit for export trade including transit of substances like Tramadol as it's listed on table IV of law 4139/13 "on addictive substances and other provisions", a statement from authorities told dna. The container in question is found to have furnished inadequate details on the Tramadol cartons, "as a means of covering (cap) in order to mislead the authorities.''

Mohammad Rayyan Usman Exporters, who shipped the consignment from Nhava Sheva port near Mumbai, dismissed the allegations of concealing details of the container and supplying drugs to IS fighters. Details accessed by dna show the said container was declared as carrying "bedsheets, towels, quilts, table covers, curtains, blankets and pharmaceutical products.''

Receipts from Evergreen Shipping Agency handling the container declare information on 527 cartons of which 479 carry Tamol X and 48 carry linen with clearance stamps from JNPT Customs department on April 19.

Based in Old Delhi's Daryaganj near Jama Masjid, Usman is a registered exporter of handicrafts, table clothes and pharmaceuticals in Gulf and Middle East countries since 1993. Usman regularly exported Tamol X to Syria prior to war. The outbreak of the conflict in 2011 and its spill-over in the region since, dimmed his business prospect. Last year he made a small consignment for 10 cartons to Lebanon.

In February, for the first time he got a call from an operative in Al Murooj Company for a consignment of 400 cartons of Tamol X 225 mg. "And it was a specific demand for Tamol X 225 from Royal company, based in Amritsar,'' Usman remembers. Of the 262 manufacturers of Tramadol in India, Amritsar-based Royal International whose product was found in the seized consignment is one of the prominent manufacturers and exporters of the drug since 1996.

Royal manufactures Tamol X with a dosage of 225 mg of Tramadol Hydrochloride and was therefore a preferred choice, said Usman. Rajanbir Singh, general manager of Royal International, denied the product in question was being supplied by his company and said he had no knowledge of its abuse by IS fighters.

An opioid analgesic or a narcotic-like pain reliever, prescribed for moderate or severe pain and cancer treatment, Tramadol is widely abused to experience a sense of euphoria, sexual enhancement and as energy boosters. On drug forums users reported, "anything over 400 mg is when the risk goes up way more.'' One user says he took 15 pills and his body started flushing really hot, had bad ringing in ears and whole body shook up for 30 minutes.

The Gulf and Middle East countries, where the armed conflicts fueled growth of an illegal drug economy, demand in trafficking of powerful amphetamines and opioid painkillers from source countries like India has increased. Pills like Captagon and Tramadol are favored by militants for their sedative effects as it makes them 'invincible' during fighting.

Dr GN Singh, who holds the office of Drugs Controller General of India, said Tramadol is a scheduled drug in the country and its manufacturing is regulated. "We will investigate the case to find if Tramadol was being smuggled and if requisite permissions for export were taken.''