The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, on Monday broke into the Onitsha Patent and Proprietor Dealers Union OPPMDU, market popularly known as Ogbo Ogwu and seize what they described as fake, expired and illicit drugs being allegedly traded in the market.
The exercise according to NAFDAC was part of its enforcement exercise at the popular drug market, located at the Niger Bridge Head, Onitsha, Anambra State.
The exercise was even carried out in the absence of the trader who are stil observing Monday weekly sit-at-home as all the markets in Onitsha the commercial city and other in Anambra State still shun marketing activities o Mondays.
Asked why the agency decided to carry break into the market to conduct the exercise, the agency said it has the mandate to carry out any exercise whether the trades are present or not, as the law establishing it gave it such power.
The exercise which the Director, South East Zone, NAFDAC, Dr Martins Iluyomade, confiscated several adulterated, substandard and expired drugs discovered in different shops in the market.
Addressing newsmen during the exercise, Iluyomade said the "exercise was in line with the agency’s mandate of eradicating fake, banned and other spurious NAFDAC regulated products from circulating in Nigeria and to prevent members of the unsuspecting public from falling victims."
Accorsing to him, "NAFDAC working in collaboration with the market task force in the exercise that led to the seizure of the multiple fake and banned products. It is a combined exercise being carried out simultaneously across all the South-East states drug markets"
“Today, we are commencing our enforcement exercise at the Ogbo-Ogu market. What triggered the exercise is that overtime, we have been collating data and gathering intelligence on fake and substandard drugs in the market and we got to the tail end and discovered that people are repackaging and rebagging fake and counterfeit drugs in the market.
"The exercise is aimed at raiding the markets of fake and substandard drugs and those that are made up of spurious, counterfeited and falsified medicinal products, unwholesome processed products and several other unsafe regulated drugs.
"This is taking place simultaneously across the South-East states and it is aimed at sanitising the drug markets and safeguard the health of members of unsuspecting public.
“Among the drugs are expired, banned, substandard, deflective, repackaged and recalled products. We found out that some of the drug dealers are in the habit of imitating some popular drugs and pouring it into containers of the original manufacturer in order to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.
"And these drugs are very sensitive that can lead to death or permanent disability of the consumer. The confiscation of the products would eliminate the risk of their reintroduction into the market and a proof of the agency’s resolve to safeguard the health of the people."
The NAFDAC Zonal Director urged members of the public to patronise only licensed and registered drug outlets, adding that security operatives and the investigative team of the agency as well as other stakeholders are on ground monitoring and ensuring that the enforcement goes smoothly.
He however could not give the financial estimated value of confiscated products adding that the exercise is still ongoing and will last for seven days and the monetary estimate can only be determined at the end of the exercise.
Some of the products found in the market to have been faked and counterfeited included antibiotics, anti-hypertensive, anti-diabetic, anti-asthmatic, aphrodisiacs, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, herbal remedies and psychoactive drugs.
Others were banned drugs such as analgin, tramadol(above 100mg), gentamycin 280mg, codeine and controlled substances, vaccines, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, chemicals and unwholesome food, empty plastics, bags and cans, among others.
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