The National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed two shops and seize products worth millions of Naira, for the sale of counterfeited products in Benin City on Wednesday.
The team of NAFDAC Officers and mobile policemen led by the Head of Taskforce on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Process Foods, Mr. Ejiofor Kingsley stormed the popular Mission road in Oredo Local government of Edo State, to conduct inspection on assorted drinks, with many marketers scrambling to prove authenticity of their products to avoid arrest.
The team conducted series of test on different wines and other assorted drinks, which eventually led to closure of two shops belonging to one Mrs Oluchi Peters and another unidentified.
In a chat with journalists Mr. Ejiofor said that NAFDAC as a law enforcement agency, owes it to the public to protect and preserve lives, disclosing that the number of fake goods in the market is on the increase.
According to him “We believe we owe a duty to the nation and the society to save lives. The products we have seized today are all counterfeited products, they are products that people ingest and they kill.”
“We know what is going on in the society, the incidence of cancer is increasing and there is need for Government to do something about it, that is why we are here and appealing to all consumers to check products properly especially assorted drinks before purchasing them.”
He also revealed that some dealers now mix chemicals and other substances to produce wines, noting that the agency is not out to destroy businesses of individuals, but to maintain sanity and evict fake products from the society.
“We have instances where people mix all sought of concussion and even uses “formalin” chemical that is use in embalming corpses in these drinks, I mean we are talking about lives here, no amount of money is worth people’s life.
He further said that the agency will commence investigation on the seized products before fate of the suspects will be disclosed, but however urged dealers in food, drinks, cosmetics, detergent and chemicals to register their products with the agency in order to ease detection of unwholesome products.
Ejiofor however enjoined members of the public to support NAFDAC in the fight against counterfeited and fake products from the market, stating that it is a collective responsibility we all must uphold and encourage.
