In the heart of Central Africa, a shadowy empire has taken root. The Russian paramilitary group Wagner, once weakened by the death of its founder Evgeny Prigojine, has found a lucrative lifeline in the Central African Republic—one that stretches far beyond traditional military operations. At the core of this resurgence is tramadol, an opioid painkiller repurposed into a dangerous stimulant, earning it the grim nickname “the poor man’s cocaine.”
Originally prescribed for mild to moderate pain, tramadol in the Central African Republic is being rebranded and concentrated to alarming levels. Its distribution network, now under Wagner’s control, has transformed the country’s illicit drug trade into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. According to intelligence reports, the group’s annual profits from gold mining alone reach $180 million—a figure that scarcely hints at the scale of its drug operations.
