A joint operation by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has uncovered an illegal pharmaceutical manufacturing unit in Karachi’s Ahsanabad area producing high-dose tramadol tablets and capsules of 225mg and 250mg, officials said on Wednesday.
The raid was carried out following intelligence reports about clandestine production of formulations that have been banned in Pakistan. Under current regulations, only 50mg and 100mg of tramadol are permitted for controlled medical use.
Drap had called registrations for higher-dose formulations last year after international agencies and several African governments raised concerns that Pakistan-origin tramadol was fuelling illicit markets abroad.
A senior Drap official said the factory operating in a katchi abadi was manufacturing multiple brands of high-dose tramadol, including brands that have been linked internationally to abuse and trafficking. “The scale of production and the recovery of large quantities of raw material and finished stock indicate that this was not for legitimate pharmaceutical supply,” the official said.
During the raid, teams seized active pharmaceutical ingredients used to make tramadol, finished tablets and capsules, packaging material, excipients and drug-manufacturing machinery.
Initial arrests were made at the site. Based on information provided by suspects, a follow-up raid was conducted at another location, where dozens of drums labelled as melamine were recovered. Samples have been sent for laboratory testing amid suspicion that the contents were being used as tramadol raw material.
Tramadol is a synthetic opioid analgesic prescribed for moderate to severe pain. However, high-dose formulations have emerged as a major public health and law-enforcement concern in parts of West and North Africa and the Middle East, where the drug is widely misused as a cheap opioid substitute. Medical experts warn that misuse of high-strength tramadol can lead to addiction, respiratory depression, seizures and, in severe cases, death.
The Pakistan’s pharmaceutical regulator has in recent years tightened controls on tramadol following evidence that excessive imports of raw material were far beyond domestic medical needs.
Drap has stated that only 50mg and 100mg strengths are required for legitimate use and that imports of tramadol API in the past could have produced hundreds of millions of tablets, far exceeding the local demand.
The authorities believe some of this material was diverted into illegal production of high-dose brands banned locally but found in foreign black markets.
In December 2025, Drap also issued a rapid alert after laboratory testing found several high-dose tramadol products to be unregistered, falsified or spurious, warning pharmacies and healthcare professionals to remove them from circulation due to serious safety risks. The regulator directed field teams to step up surveillance and confiscation of such products from supply chains.
Officials in the Sindh health department said that while repeated seizures of illegal tablets and raw material over recent years had disrupted some operations, prosecutions had often failed to dismantle networks behind the trade.
“Enforcement actions tend to break one node, but the supply chains adapt and re-emerge,” a senior official said, stressing the need for sustained investigations and coordination between regulatory and law-enforcement agencies.
The FIA said legal action would follow completion of laboratory analyses and regulatory assessments of the seized material. Drap officials said the latest operation underscored the continuing challenge of curbing illegal opioid manufacturing, noting that such activities posed risks not only to public health at home but also to Pakistan’s standing internationally, where the country had faced scrutiny over being a source of illicit tramadol supplies.
Authorities said investigations were under way to trace supply chains, financing and distribution networks linked to the factory, and determine whether licensed entities were involved in diversion of raw materials.
