NAFDAC shuts illegal drug depots in three States

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has intensified its campaign against counterfeit medicines, uncovering massive warehouses of fake and expired drugs in Aba, Abia State; Onitsha, Anambra State; and Idumota, Lagos State.

In a statement on Monday, the Director-General of the agency, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, declared that “enough is enough” as operatives carried out multiple raids, seizing 14 truckloads of substandard and falsified medicines.

In Aba, Professor Adeyeye revealed that enforcement officers uncovered an illegal depot at 269 Faulks Road and another at Umumeje village, Osisioma Ngwa, where expired medicines were being repackaged and revalidated for resale.

Among the confiscated items were machines used to alter expiry dates and fraudulent packaging materials.

In Onitsha, the NAFDAC chief stated that operatives, working in collaboration with security agencies, raided the Ogbo-Ogwu Bridge Head Market, seizing counterfeit and expired medicines worth billions of naira.

The confiscated drugs included banned products expired antimalarial injections, and codeine cough syrups, some of which fraudulently bore NAFDAC approval numbers.

Furthermore, in Lagos, Professor Adeyeye reported that over 3,000 drug shops were raided at the Idumota Open Drug Market. Several unregistered pharmaceutical outlets were sealed, and 12 truckloads of illicit drugs were seized, including banned Analgin injections, diverted HIV retroviral drugs, and vaccines stored in unsafe conditions.

Professor Adeyeye reaffirmed the agency’s determination to dismantle counterfeit drug operations across the country.

“We will not stand by while a few unscrupulous individuals endanger public health,” she asserted.

She emphasised that the ongoing crackdown aims to eliminate fake, expired, and substandard medicines from circulation, thereby safeguarding the health of Nigerians.