Police uncover fake drugs factory in Lagos

LAGOS — Policemen attached to Ejigbo division in Lagos have uncovered a fake drug manufacturing outfit in the areas, recovering large quantity of counterfeit drugs which are distributed to pharmaceutical stores across the nation.

Arrested was the alleged manufacturer, a 58-year-old man who said he learnt the skill in India.
Recovered from the factory situated at 5, Arochukwu Street, Ilamoshe, Ejigbo,  were five large cartons of fake Zentel tablets, thousands of packs of Zentel tablets and a large quantity of printed packets for packaging Postinor tablets.
But the suspect, Nne Ikenna, who was paraded, yesterday, by the image maker of the Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi Braide, denied manufacturing the drugs, saying  he only packaged them.

Ikenna said: “The drugs are not fake. They are effective. I use them myself and they work for me. I even administered them on  my children.

I repair machines for pharmaceutical companies and I’ve even worked in a company in India. I, however, do not produce the drugs. The machines are owned by one Uche who brought them for repairs but he left them in my  workshop and told me to assist him in packaging the  drugs.

For each drum of drugs I package, he pays me N20,000 and N35,000 for using my place every month. I don’t market the drugs neither do I produce, I only package them.”
He also revealed that the drugs were imported from India and China, adding  that he seized the last goods the said Uche brought, following his refusal to pay him for previous job done.
Explaining how he was arrested, Braide said: “Last Friday at about 5 a.m, based on information that one Nne Ikenna, owner and occupier of the said premises had in his possession machines for producing counterfeit drugs.

 The Divisional Police Officer, Oliver Inoma-Abbey, a Chief Superintendent of Police, led a team of operatives to cordon and search the premises and the following items were recovered: Two packing machines, one blistering machine, five big cartoons of counterfeit Albendazole (Zentel)tablets in 10 big bags; large quantity of printed packets for packaging Albendazole tablets and Levonorgestrel (postinor2)tablets and  37 cartoons of leaflets for packing Zeltel tablets”
 
The suspect she said, would be handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC


BY EVELYN USMAN & UJU MBANUSI