*Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control says the anti-smuggling operation is part of ongoing efforts at curbing the influx of prohibited goods, to protect consumers from uncertified products in the country
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
In continuation of its offensive against smuggling activities in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has intercepted suspected smuggled vegetable oil, and confiscated imported soaps valued at over N500 million along the Waste African country’s border.
ConsumerConnect reports NAFDAC disclosed this development during an inspection of the seized products.
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Dr. Martin Iluyomade, Director of Investigation at NAFDAC and Chairman of Federal Task Force on Fake and Counterfeit Products, said the health regulatory agency’s latest operation was part of ongoing efforts at curbing the influx of prohibited goods and protect consumers from uncertified products.
Iluyomade affirmed that the NAFDAC operatives recently intercepted four trucks suspected to be transporting vegetable oil smuggled into the country through unauthorised border routes.
He also stated: “We trailed these trailers until about 10 p.m. We discovered that they were coming from Ghana and had covered their number plates to conceal their identity.
“They claimed to be carrying vegetable oil, but importation of vegetable oil through land borders is prohibited, which raised our suspicion.”
The Director of Investigation at NAFDAC and Chairman of Federal Task Force on Fake and Counterfeit Products explained the trucks, each carrying approximately 66,000 litres of vegetable oil, had been impounded and taken to a NAFDAC facility for further investigation to determine the exact contents of the consignments.
Besides, the health sector regulator as well seized a truckload of over 4,000 cartons of imported soaps, which are among products prohibited from entering Nigeria through land borders.
Seizure of soaps worth over N500m
Dr. Iluyomade said: “The total value of the soaps alone is over N500 million.
“The vegetable oil tankers are carrying approximately 66,000 litres each, and their combined value runs into several hundreds of millions of Naira.”
According to him, the product seizures underscored NAFDAC’s resolve to sanitise the market, and prevent uncertified products from reaching consumers.
Warning smugglers to desist from illegal importation, Iluyomade said the agency had stepped up surveillance across border corridors.
He equally assured Nigerians that NAFDAC would continue to track and intercept prohibited goods in the country.
Restating the agency’s determined efforts at ridding the country of illicit products, the top official of NAFDAC said: “It will no longer be business as usual.
“Many of these products do not pass through NAFDAC certification, meaning we cannot guarantee their safety or quality.
“Nigerians should patronise locally manufactured products that have been certified and approved.”
Operatives arrest Ghanaians as suspects
Iluyomade as well revealed that five suspects had been arrested in connection with the seizures.
Most of the suspects, he said, are Ghanaian nationals who were apprehended after the products entered Nigeria through routes believed to be within the Seme border axis.
In regard to compliance with regulations governing the transportation of edible oils, Iluyomade maintained that industry operators are increasingly adhering to NAFDAC’s directive requiring dedicated and properly marked trucks for transporting edible oils.
The NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Chairman of Federal Task Force on Fake and Counterfeit Products, however, cautioned stakeholders that enforcement would be intensified.
He said any truck found violating the directive would be impounded.
NAFDAC, therefore, reiterated its commitment to safeguarding public health while supporting local industries by preventing the entry of prohibited and potentially harmful products into the Nigerian market.