NAFDAC INTENSIFIES CRACKDOWN ON FAKE DRUG SYNDICATES IN ABA, ONITSHA AND LAGOS 18-02-25
By Sadiq Aminu. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has intensified its fight against counterfeit drugs, uncovering massive warehouses of fake and expired medicines in Aba, Onitsha, and Idumota.
The Director-General of the Agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement on Monday declared that“enough is enough” as operatives raided multiple locations, seizing 14 truckloads of substandard and falsified drugs.
In Aba, Prof. Adeyeye said enforcement officers discovered an illegal depot at 269 Faulks Road and another at Umumeje village, Osisioma Ngwa, where expired medicines were repackaged and revalidated for resale.
Machines used to alter expiry dates and fraudulent packaging materials were among the items confiscated.
In Onitsha, the NAFDAC DG said operatives, in collaboration with security agencies, stormed the Ogbo-Ogwu Bridge Head Market, where they seized billions of naira worth of expired and adulterated medicines.
The seized items include banned products, expired antimalarial injections, and codeine cough syrups, some falsely carrying NAFDAC approval numbers.
Meanwhile, in Lagos, Prof. Adeyeye said over 3,000 drug shops were raided in the Idumota Open Drug Market, sealing unregistered pharmaceutical outlets and confiscating 12 truckloads of illicit drugs, including banned Analgin injections, diverted HIV retroviral drugs, and vaccines stored in unsafe conditions.
Prof. Adeyeye reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to shutting down counterfeit drug operations across the country.
“We will not stand by while a few unscrupulous individuals endanger public health,” she said.
The ongoing crackdown, she emphasized, is to eliminate fake, expired, and substandard medicines from circulation, safeguarding the health of Nigerians.