By CHIMEZIE ANASO

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Monday busted and seized suspected fake and adulterated pharmaceutical products at the Onitsha Bridgehead drug market.

Dr Martin Iluyomade, Coordinator of NAFDAC in Southeast who led the team on the raid, told newsmen that the operation would be total and continuous.

Iluyomade said the operation followed a long period of surveillance and data collection on substandard and falsified medicines in the country in line with its mandate of safeguarding the health of the nation.

The coordinator said the national operation was taking place simultaneously in all the major drug markets in the Southeast

He said some of the traders had chemicals and traders in one shop, empty containers, unbranded medicines and labeled containers with misleading information including NAFDAC registration number.

?The discovery has been interesting, we have unpackaged medicines, empty containers prefixed labeled with manufacturing date and expiry dates, these are medicines they will sell to unsuspecting public,? he said.

Iluyomade said the market leadership had not been collaborative with the agency in the fight against fake drugs.

The Coordinator said the operation was a continuous process and that it would go on for as long as it took to sanitise the markets while vowing that culprits will be identified, arrested and subjected to the laws of the country.

He said the market would remain shut until they were through with the operation.

There used to be a relationship between the agency and market leadership. In the past, if we come for this type of operation, they would give us their task force.

?But now, we have seen a very different union. The last time we came for such operations, our staff were beaten and stripped.

?The market unions no longer have powers to control the activities of their members because these people go as far as taking their unions to court,? he said. (NAN)

Update news