NAFDAC arrests chemist, seizes fake drugs in Edo

THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has apprehended one Mr. Ifeanyi Okeke for allegedly selling expired and controlled drugs in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.

According the agency, Okeke, who runs a patent medicine shop in Auchi, was arrested during its enforcement operation in the area.

The Edo Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr. David West, told Southern City News that some cartons of fake Tramadol, a controlled drug, and several cartons of expired drugs, such as Febecap and Augmentin, were seized from the suspect’s shop.

West explained that the enforcement exercise was aimed at ensuring that members of the public buy and consume wholesome food and drugs in order to ensure good health, through safety.

In Benin, the state capital, about 20 cartons of different brands of popular alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks were also seized from 12 shops at Upper Sakponba, Mission Road and vegetable market, off Airport Road, in the metropolis.

Test kits were used to ascertain the wholesomeness of the processed drinks, during the operation.

A Chief Regulatory Officer in the Enforcement and Operations unit of the agency, Mr. Joseph Idowu, decried the prevalence of fake and badly processed drinks in the capital.

“From the areas we have covered in Benin, we have seen a lot of counterfeit drinks, which we have seized and loaded in two vehicles.

“We decided to carry out this enforcement on wine sellers because of the report of surveillance we got on wines. Enforcement is an ongoing process and NAFDAC is worried about the rate of fake products in the country,” Idowu said.

A pharmacist, Mr. Godwin Okonufia, who was part of the NAFDAC enforcement team in Benin, noted that the sales of fake drinks along with the original ones had become a disturbing trend.

Okonufia pointed out that the consumption of counterfeit food and drinks could cause kidney problems and other related diseases.

He, therefore, urged consumers to buy processed drinks and drugs from reputable authorised sales outlets.