The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered a residential building in Lagos where more than 100 sacks of empty alcoholic beverage bottles were stored for suspected use in producing counterfeit drinks.
The discovery was made by the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate at a building located 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.
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 described the building as being situated in a secluded residential area, adding that officers found different types of empty bottles stacked and covered with tarpaulins.
According to him, the bottles came in different sizes and included containers bearing the labels of various alcoholic beverage brands.
“We have bottles of different sizes, 750cl and all the rest. We have Action Bitter, we have different kinds,” he said.
Ojo also identified bottles labelled Royal Circle Premium Whiskey among the items recovered during the operation.
He alleged that the bottles were being stockpiled for distribution to individuals suspected of producing 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.
The NAFDAC official condemned the use of a residential building for the alleged activity, stressing that the agency was committed to protecting public health and preventing the circulation of counterfeit products.
“This is a residential area, and this is not acceptable to government. We are here to safeguard the health of the nation,” Ojo said.
He urged Nigerians to report suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods to the nearest NAFDAC office to help the agency identify and tackle the production and distribution of counterfeit products.
Ojo said public cooperation was important in the fight against counterfeit alcoholic beverages, warning that the suspected activities could pose a threat to public health if the bottles were reused to package fake drinks.
