The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has made a groundbreaking discovery of a massive counterfeit medicine operation in Lagos, seizing over 10 million doses of fake and banned drugs worth a whopping N3 billion 💸. The agency's Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Mr. Martins Iluyomade, revealed that the fake medicines were hidden in warehouses in the Trade Fair-Navy area of Lagos, cleverly disguised as residential houses.
According to Iluyomade, the breakthrough was made possible by intelligence gathered from a training meeting held on February 3, which flagged suspicious activities in the area. NAFDAC's team swooped in and found a stash of counterfeit medicines, including life-saving injectable anti-malarials, antibiotics, and banned products like Analgin, which has been prohibited for over 15 years.
Iluyomade emphasized that these fake medicines are not just harmless imitations, but pose a significant threat to public health, as they can be used in emergency situations, potentially leading to fatal consequences. He explained that the counterfeiters are highly sophisticated, cloning original products and reproducing them abroad to near perfection, making it challenging to distinguish between genuine and fake products.
The NAFDAC official warned that Nigeria's health system is under attack by counterfeiters driven by profit, and urged manufacturers and the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities to help combat this organized crime. He also revealed that some manufacturers had reported fake versions of their products in the market for over six months, but the criminals often distribute in small quantities to avoid detection.
Overall, NAFDAC's operation is a major breakthrough in the fight against counterfeit medicines in Nigeria, and a reminder of the importance of vigilance in protecting public health.
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