Posted by By Kazeem Ugbodaga on
The Lagos State Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods swooped on Agege and Iyana-Ipaja areas of Lagos state at the weekend, shut seven unregistered pharmaceutical stores and destroyed drugs worth N80 million.
The Lagos State Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods swooped on Agege and Iyana-Ipaja areas of Lagos state at the weekend, shut seven unregistered pharmaceutical stores and destroyed drugs worth N80 million.
The clampdown on counterfeit and fake drugs is in line with the current move of the governor Babatunde Raji Fashola administration to rid the state of unwholesome drugs. Twelve pharmaceutical stores were shut down a few weeks ago.
Mrs. Omolara Kolawole, Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Ministry of Health, led the task force comprising officials of the National Agency for Food and Drugs and Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
Owners of the sealed pharmacies were arrested and their drugs carted away. It was discovered that the culprits were neither registered with the pharmaceutical body in the country nor with the state government. Most of them do not even have any license to operate.
At Think Eternity Pharmacy Limited, Iyana Ipaja, officials of the task force loaded the seized drugs into several large sacks and carted them away for destruction. Other unregistered pharmacies suffered similar fate, while samples of drugs were taken from each pharmacy for tests. Those arrested were locked up at the Alausa Police Station.
According to task force officials, owners of the sealed pharmacies would pay fines ranging between N100,000 and N500,000 for contravening the laws governing the operation of pharmaceutical companies. The drugs, put at N80 million, were taken to the Federal Medical Stores, Oshodi, where their owners witnessed their destruction.
The pharmacies shut include Emma Pharmacy, Dosera Pharmacy, Eternal Hope Pharmacy, Uzo Lenn Pharmacy, Dumec Pharmaceutical and Think Eternity Pharmaceutical Limited.
The Lagos State Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods was set up to raid unregistered pharmaceutical premises, apprehend offenders, seal-up unregistered pharmacies and seize such fake drugs.
The task force is also empowered to cart away drugs of unregistered pharmacies, destroy such drugs at Oshodi Medical Stores and prosecute owners of the offending pharmacies.