Italian police seize painkillers worth $50 million allegedly sourced by Indian firm to ISIS

Tablets of a synthetic opiate, allegedly sourced by an Indian firm for the Islamic State (ISIS) in Libya have been seized by the Italian police, a Hindustan Times report says.

According to the report, over 24 million tramadol tablets, which are used as painkillers, were seized at the Italian port of Gioia Tauro. The tablet is reportedly used by terrorists to dull pain and supress fatigue. The haul is estimated to be worth $50 million.

“According to the information shared with foreign investigative sources, the traffic of Tramadol is directly handled by IS to finance terrorist activities planned and carried out across the world,” the court in Reggio Calabria city said.

Part of the money raised from the sales would also go “to subsidise terrorist groups and extremists operating in Libya, Syria and Iraq,” it added.

Owing to its cheap price and potency, tramadol dependency has reached crisis levels in much of Libya and Egypt. Use of the drug, normally only available on prescription, is also rampant among fighters of the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram.