Efidirine is not a drug; it is used in the medicine to make patient unconscious.
This was an international level infamous case involving many high profile pakistanis who used influence and corruption to gain illegal quotas of this drug and instead of using it for making medicines they sold it to illicit drug mafia
As recently as 2012, officials in Pakistan were calling ephedrine the “poor man’s cocaine,”
As recently as 2012, officials in Pakistan were calling ephedrine the “poor man’s cocaine,” though other experts argued against such a distinction. Why has it earned this reputation? Probably because it can be abused and,...
www.drugrehab.org
Coverage from state department of USA who work closely with ANF
In 2013, the ANF pushed for the prosecution of several individuals involved in a scheme to illegally divert approximately nine MT of imported ephedrine. Authorities allege the ephedrine was trafficked to Afghanistan and Iran for use in methamphetamine production. The ANF pursued this investigation in spite of the fact that one of the principal defendants in the investigation was the son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. In 2013, the ANF also seized several large shipments of acetic anhydride, which is a precursor chemical used to convert morphine to heroin. In May, the ANF SIC reported seizing 103 MT of acetic anhydride en route to Afghanistan. In July, the ANF Lahore Directorate reported the seizure of two consignments of ephedrine totaling 212 kg. In August, the ANF, working jointly with Pakistani Customs authorities, seized a further 15 MT of acetic anhydride as part of a joint investigation with DEA.
Corruption remains a major challenge to the practice of law enforcement. Although parliamentary oversight committees, an independent judicial system, and a critical free press exposed corrupt practices, the consequences for perpetrators were rarely severe. Accordingly, corruption continued to facilitate the movement of contraband, principally in the form of bribes to public servants.
In 2012, ANF arrested two senior government officers for tampering with Pakistan’s 2010 ephedrine import quotas. These prominent officials were promptly released on bail, while legal proceedings have stalled. However, in 2013, the government seized the assets of several other suspects involved in the scandal. The politically-charged ephedrine case notwithstanding, narcotics traffickers do not profoundly influence the government, and the government neither encourages nor facilitates drug trafficking as a matter of policy.
www.state.gov