NAFDAC Confiscates Cartons Of Expired Drugs In Onitsha
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Loading ...By Nedum Noble
No fewer than 40 cartons of assorted revalidated expired drugs were on Thursday confiscated by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) at the Bridge Head Drug Market, Onitsha, Anambra state.
The drugs were confiscated during a raid in the area which also witnessed the sealing off of three shops in the market.
Deputy Director of NAFDAC, Mrs Christiana Essenwa, who disclosed this to newsmen in the commercial city, said that no arrest was made during the operation.
“Following a tip-off from good spirited individual, my officers went on raid at the Bridge Head market. According to the report we got, some products were being revalidated and sold to public.
“We went to the markets and what we saw were unbelievable. The dates of many expired products were cleaned and revalidated,” she said.
“Items recovered included; stamps, pads, seals, acrylic dissolvers and nail polish removers used for cleaning dates before revalidation and specialised markers of different colours used for changing dates.
“Other recovered items include anti-malaria drugs, antibiotics, antifungals, anti-diabetics, anti-hypertensive, multivitamins, disinfectants, capsules, injections and snake venom antiserum which were all expired.
“What we got there totaled 40 cartons of expired products some of which were already revalidated while others have been cleaned and were about to be revalidated.
She described the products as hazardous in view of the validity dates which indicated that they had expired, adding that they would no longer confer the expected healing when consumed.
“The products are already going into degradation which may cause chemical reaction or introduce microbial organisms when consumed,” she said.
The Deputy Director who hinted that invitations had been sent to the fleeing suspects to come to NAFDAC office, assuring that they would be prosecuted, urged members of the public to be careful when buying products especially drugs.
“Don’t just watch out for expiry dates but check the prints to know whether it has been tampered with,” Essenwa stressed.
Assuring the agency’s continued guarantee of the safety of lives of the people, he deputy director,
urged the public to always provide information that would lead to the arrest of people who indulge in counterfeiting and faking of products.
