The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered a residential property in Lagos where over 100 sacks of empty alcoholic beverage bottles were reportedly being stored for suspected use in the production and distribution of counterfeit alcoholic drinks. The discovery forms part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to curb the circulation of fake and substandard products across the country.
The bottles were discovered by the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate at 322B Meiran Road, Agbado Oke-Odo, Lagos.
NAFDAC said the bottles were destroyed to prevent them from being reused in the production of counterfeit alcoholic beverages.
Speaking in a video released by the agency on Friday, an Assistant Director in its Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, Kunle Ojo, said the operation followed credible intelligence about activities at the location.
Ojo said the building was in a secluded residential area where different materials were stored, including empty bottles of various sizes and brands covered with tarpaulins.
“On arriving, we saw different kinds of bottles stacked in this place. These are bottles covered with tarpaulins,” he said.
He identified some of the bottles as belonging to alcoholic beverage brands, adding that the collection included bottles of different sizes.
According to Ojo, the bottles were suspected to have been stockpiled for distribution to people involved in the production of counterfeit alcoholic drinks.
“What these people are planning to do, or what they do here, is to watch the bottle supply to different suspected counterfeiters to be used for another production,” he said.
Ojo condemned the use of residential buildings for such activities, saying NAFDAC’s intervention was aimed at protecting public health.
“This is a residential area, and this is not acceptable to government. We are here to safeguard the health of the nation,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to report suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods to the nearest NAFDAC office to help the agency curb the production and distribution of counterfeit products.
“We are calling on all women in Nigeria, please, when you see something taking place in your area, kindly notify the nearest NAFDAC office so that we can stop this menace, so that we can save our country from all these counterfeiters,” Ojo added.
