The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control has seized banned pharmaceutical products worth millions of naira in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State, during a raid.
The agency also burst factories manufacturing fake alcoholic beverages in Enugu and Imo states during the month.
NAFDAC’s director, South-East zone, Martins Iluyomade, told journalists in Awka on Wednesday that drugs intercepted in Onitsha included 892 bottles of codeine syrup, 26 packs of Rohypnol tablets (Flunitrazepam) and 16 packs of Swings tablets (Flunitrazepam).
Others were six rolls of Teka Tramadol capsules 100mg, 10 packs of Super Terpentol tablets 200mg and eight packs of Osaka Tramadol capsules 100mg.
Mr Iluyomade commended Louis Mmadubuatta, coordinator of NAFDAC in Anambra State, for a successful operation, saying that the drugs posed grave public health danger.
He said the drugs were dangerous psychoactive substances, especially rohypnol, which, he said, was largely used by kidnappers, rapists, cultists and ritualists on their victims.
“These are controlled drugs that should not be found on the open market or in the hands of individuals,” he said.
Mr Iluyomade said other breakthroughs made included the discovery of a factory under the name Best Ijaw at Ibagwa Aka, in the Igboeze South Local Government Area of Enugu State, which specialised in the production of an unapproved dry gin.
He said the factory had eight PVC containers filled with substances suspected to be ethanol and drums of substances equally suspected to be ethanol.
