The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has arrested five persons for alleged sale of expired consumer products.
The agency’s Director General, Dr. Paul Orhii, who was represented by the Head of the Investigative and Enforcement Directorate, Mr Kingsley Ejiofor, disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos on Friday.
He said the suspects were arrested following intelligence report which showed they were counterfeiting Derica Tomato Paste, maxiquine syrup, corn beef, among other consumer products.
According to him, one of the suspects, Mr. Charles Onyekachi, imported a 1.20-feet container of the Derica Tomato Paste from China and shipped them to Cotonou, Benin Republic, where they were transported to Kano.
His words: “Onyekachi has his own registered products with our agency, among which is tomatoes paste, but because he wanted to play smart, he was selling his registered brand along with the counterfeited ones to discredit the popular Derica Tomatoe Paste brand with an intent to gain market space.
“The quantity and value of his counterfeited products released to the market is four times that of his own registered brand. The counterfeit product is worth N8 million,” the DG stated.
He said that a criminal charge had been filed against the suspect at the Federal High Court, Lagos, where he will be arraigned and prosecuted.
Orhii said that the agency also arrested two suspects, Tochukwu Ozala and Obiora Ochuba for production, distribution and sale of counterfeit Maxiquine Syrup.
He said that the suspects were arrested by the police in Onitsha with four bags of empty bottles of Maxiquine Syrup, four litres of white liquid chemicals, one bottle of unlabeled substance and 12 empty cartons.
According to him, Ozala, during interrogation claim that the Maxiquine Syrup belonged to one Mr Emma who was currently at large. “On February 12, the same Ozala was arrested for counterfeiting of a popular brand of codeine-containing cough syrup. That case is still being investigated before he committed another crime,” he said.
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