Much has been written about China’s alleged role in the US opioid crisis. Chemicals from Chinese suppliers have supposedly been used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, which is then trafficked into the United States where it has fuelled a deadly overdose crisis.
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“India also has large chemical and pharmaceutical sectors that are known to export synthetic drug precursors to trafficking organisations in Mexico. It could be only a matter of time before illegal production migrates to India or elsewhere,” the report noted.
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According to officials cited in a 2022 Brookings Institution report, the illicit production of precursors in India and their export are “extensive” while “drug policy control in India is significantly below that of China”.