The Oyo/Osun Nigeria Customs Service has handed over seized 53 sacks of fake pharmaceutical drugs worth N1.7 billion to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for destruction and further investigations.
Speaking during the handover at the Customs office in Ibadan, the Area Controller, Ben Oramalugo, said if the fake drugs had made their way into the public, they would have caused more harm to the health of Nigerians, particularly to those who would purchased and consumed them, unaware of their falsified nature.
He explained that the Augmentin Tablets (625mg) were packed in seven sacks, while 22 sacks of Ampiclox Capules, and 24 sacks of Amoxycillin Capsules (500mg) were also concealed.
Oramalugo noted that the DPV of Diazepam Tablet was put at N20,000 while the DPV of the Tramadol was N1 million.
He said the unit also seized other items against the extant Customs laws worth N299.6 million for the period of March to April 16.
They include 982 (50kg) bags of foreign parboiled rice, 494 (25liters) kegs of premium motor spirit (PMS), 254 pieces of used tyres; 27 bales of African Original textile material, 12 sacks and 40 wraps (80kg) of cannabis sativa, and 25 bales and 6 sacks of secondhand clothing.
The fake drugs that were handed over to NAFDAC, were in five categories – Augmentin tablets, Ampoclox and Amoxycillin capsules, as well as Diazepam tablet, and Tramadol.
He said the seizures are a reflection of the unit’s commitment to to tackling smuggling activities, which pose a serious threat to national security and economic stability.
Receiving the products, the Director, South West Zone, National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Roseline Ajayi, said the agency is uncertain if the products are already in circulation, noting that the drugs carried fake NAFDAC registration numbers.
According to her, the drugs would be subjected to laboratory analysis to ascertain their potency, while also investigating, to apprehend the importers of such products harmful to public health and thereafter, would be destroyed.
