Drug Smuggling in Central Africa: Terror in a Tramadol High

The article reports on the widespread abuse of the synthetic opioid Tramadol in the Central African Republic, where it is smuggled from Asia via the Democratic Republic of Congo. The drug, originally a prescription painkiller, is sold openly in markets and pharmacies, often in high doses of 200 milligrams. Militia fighters and gold miners consume up to ten pills daily, inducing a state of fearlessness and aggression that fuels violence. The report, published by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), highlights how Tramadol has replaced a previous homemade drug called 'Krikri' and is now central to the violent ecosystem in the country, which has been mired in civil war since 2013.