The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has arrested a trader who allegedly manufactures and bottles fake popular spirits and liquor brands.
The agency disclosed that following a tip-off about some wine and spirits distributors who had production sites where fake liquor were being bottled and registered brands were being counterfeited, it conducted a raid on some shops in the popular Oke-Arin market, Balogun, Lagos State.
The enforcement team of NAFDAC was said to have found labeling materials, corks, funnel, filters and empty bottles of registered liquor brands in a shop at Isa Williams street, Oke-Arin market, Balogun.
Speaking to journalists after the raid, the Assistant Director, Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of the agency, Mr. Uche Uzoma, disclosed that the raid was part of a global exercise occurring simultaneously in all nations of the world called OPSON.
He added that the operation was jointly conducted by Europol, Interpol and other law enforcement agencies including the Customs, Police, and the Military and was aimed at dislodging criminal network of food and drink products counterfeiters.
He said the team had earlier raided a container apartment used as cold storage room for expired FanMilk brands including yoghurt, milk, Fanyogo, Fan chocolate and others.
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He said, “We recovered some yoghurt and other drinks that did not have the expected labeling information that they are supposed to bear, no batch number, no manufacturing or expiry dates.
“In such situations you cannot ascertain the quality, safety and the efficacy of such products and consumers are being deceived into consuming them. All the information which is very key in identifying an approved product by NAFDAC were not found on them.”
Source – The Punch
