Posted by By Kazeem Ugbodaga on
The Lagos State Taskforce on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods has shut six pharmacies and arrested three suspects in Isolo, Lagos, over fake drugs.
The Lagos State Taskforce on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods has shut six pharmacies and arrested three suspects in Isolo, Lagos, over fake drugs.
The taskforce swooped on the pharmacies, located along Isolo Road, on Friday, seized drugs worth over N50 million and sealed up the shops. Some of the pharmacies sealed off include S.E. Natheon Pharmacy and Dunek Chemist, among others.
Mr. Jude Okonkwo, Mr. Idoko Peter and Mr. Augustine Chukwuekezie were also arrested. The closure of the pharmacies is coming barely two weeks after the taskforce sealed off nine pharmacies and destroyed drugs worth about N100 million.
The move is part of a renewed bid to sanitise the drug distribution system and curb proliferation of fake drugs in the state. The offences of the pharmacies that were shut include violation of undertaking, refusal to relocate from a market area, refusal to adhere to the mandated distance and sale of counterfeit and fake drugs, among others.
Owners of the affected pharmacies would forfeit the drugs in their shops. Owners of illegal pharmacies located outside a market area would pay N100,000 while those located within a market area would pay N500,000.