Monday December 5, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - The Somali Police forces seized a large shipment of prescription drugs at the Aden Abdulle airport in Mogadishu, including Tramadol, Pethidine, Pregabalin and codeine syrup.
At least one of the drugs, Oxytocin injection, is used to induce labour in women during pregnancies.
Doctors prescribe Pregabalin to relieve serious neuropathic pain from damaged nerves in a patient's hands and feet.
Police spokesman Sadiq Doodishe said that these prescription drugs, typically opiates, are being misused every day on the streets of Mogadishu.
He added that hundreds of young people in the capital have become addicted to these prescription drugs and that the government is investigating the shipment's origins.
Residents in Mogadishu have complained to local authorities that prescription drugs are sold to youths by pharmacists throughout the capital without a doctor's consultation.