The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered an unfinished building in Asagba Ogwashi community, Aniocha South Council Area of Delta State, where expired injectables were being repackaged.
The wife of the prime suspect, Ekene Igwe Emmanuel, who is currently at large, and a neighbor have been arrested in connection with the crime.
The injectables recovered from the two-storey building include eight packs of chloroquine phosphate, which expired in August 2018, and 35 ampules of engometrin that expired in July 2020.
Other recovered injectables include 30 ampules of petazine, 70 ampules of gentamicine, 200 packs of unexpired chloroquine phosphate, 35 ampules of engometrin, 50 ampules of promethazine, 3,000 ampules of unidentified injections wrapped in paper, 1,300 printed packs of injection drugs, two pairs of Sumec generators, and one drum containing nails soaked in liquid substances.
NAFDAC’s Deputy Director in charge of Enforcement and Investigation for the Federal Taskforce, overseeing the South East zone, Pharm. Omoyeni Babantunji, displayed the recovered items before newsmen in Asaba on Tuesday. He said that following credible information, the agency raided the unfinished building and found the suspect’s wife, Blessing, before recovering the expired drugs.
According to Dr. Martins Iluyomade, Deputy Director in charge of the South South and South East zones, the suspect was a trader at the drug market in Onitsha, Anambra State. He added that since the agency’s operation began in February, some traders have relocated to neighboring communities to continue their illegal activities.
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“We were able to trace his shop, and I’m happy to say that the shop is among those that have been sealed because we sealed everywhere. He is one of the people who have not shown up, whereas every legitimate trader in that place has appeared and been profiled,” he said.
The zonal director noted that some of the drugs being repackaged in the illegal factory expired over seven years ago, adding, “Somebody uses chemicals to clean off the bottles, then relabels them with any name they want and sells them to the public, who do not realize that they are buying death.”
“You can imagine what is going on: the original product could be chloroquine that expired over seven years ago, but it is labeled as a very expensive anti-malaria drug.
“The problem is that you never really know what is inside the injectables you are taking. These are the reasons why we keep hearing about treatment failures — people go to the hospital, but their condition worsens because they are taking the wrong medicines.”
He said the agency is working to ensure that the drug distribution system in the country is rectified, explaining, “Right now, what we have is chaos, where anyone can bring in any medicine from anywhere and introduce it into the system.
“But we are working seriously, and that’s why we need Nigerians to support what we are doing to make sure we clean up the distribution system.”
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