A new US intelligence report said that India has emerged as a growing player in the illegal fentanyl trade, a designation which is likely to raise alarm in New Delhi as President Donald Trump wields tariffs on countries he accuses of not doing enough to stop the deadly drug from flowing into the United States.
Fentanyl, which is a powerful synthetic opioid that can be 100 times more potent than morphine, is the most common drug involved in overdose deaths in the US, reported CNN.
It has fuelled an opioid crisis that has become a high-priority issue for the Trump administration.
China has been the largest source of both legal supplies of the drug for many years. The drug is prescribed for severe pain relief and illegal supplies of precursor chemicals that are typically processed in labs in Mexico before the final product is smuggled across the US border.
However, according to the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) report published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence this month, India’s role in the illegal trade is becoming more prominent.
“Nonstate groups are often enabled, both directly and indirectly, by state actors, such as China and India as sources of precursors and equipment for drug traffickers,” the report said.
“China remains the primary source country for illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment, followed by India,” it added.
India was named by last year’s ATA report as among countries other than China where Mexican cartels were sourcing precursor chemicals to a “lesser extent.”
Supplying a significant portion of the world’s vaccines and medicines, India is a global leader in generic drug manufacturing.
