A notorious fake and expired drugs merchant meets his waterloo as he gets arrested by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) after several months of surveillance and evading arrest, even as the Nigeria Customs Command, Area 1, Rivers State hands over seized pharmaceutical products to the Agency
By Chinedu Oguh, Jude Nzennaya
Port Harcourt
After several months of surveillance, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has finally arrested Mr. Lazarus Chidiebere Onunkwe, who is suspected to be the biggest merchant of counterfeit and expired drugs in the South-Eastern part of the country.
Tentacle learnt that trouble started for the importer of expired drug earlier in year when a joint team of NAFDAC, the Nigeria Army, the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Service (DSS) stormed his residence in Umuocheala, a suburb of Aba and raided what the agency described as the largest fake and expired drugs factory and depot in the South-East.
It was also learnt that during the February raid, NAFDAC discovered drug factory within the buildings where expired products were been repackaged, revalidated, rebranded and pushed into the market for public consumption.
Deputy Director, in charge of Investigation and Enforcement at NAFDAC in South-East and South-South, Mr. Omoyeni Babatunji, who spoke with journalists at Onunkwe’s residence at Umuocheala in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State, said he was apprehended while trying to leave the house after sneaking in.
A source said during the earlier raid, NAFDAC evacuated no fewer than 14 trucks by 10-ton of expired drugs at Onunkwe’s Duplex with Boy’s Quarters and other bungalows separated by a fence and later sealed the buildings, while the suspect was at large.
Sources linked with the suspect, who spoke with Tentacle in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on condition of anonymity, said Onunkwe has been into importation of drugs for a long time and expressed surprise that he was arrested for repackaging, revalidating and rebranding expired drugs.
According to the sources, customers from Cameroun also bought expired drugs from him because he had all the drugs in large quantities and he sold them at cheaper rates than current market prices. These wondered what had pushed the baron to engage in importation of fake and expired drugs whereas he was the most popular and richest drug importer around.
But the suspect, who confirmed that he owns the buildings, said he used them as warehouses for drugs he deals in, which he insisted were foreign drugs and not expired drugs as NAFDAC has claimed.
On why he did not turn himself in to the authorities, Onunkwe said, “I have been sick for months now. I’ve been very sick, but my people have been going to their office. My wife and some people have been going to the Area Command as well as NAFDAC’s office in Enugu and Asaba. I’ve been very sick. I just recovered one week ago, I really wanted to go to them, but I was sick.”
Babatunji, who confirmed that the suspect has been sending a lot of people to their different offices, said that they insisted he must be brought, adding, “However, he thought that government had forgotten about him, but as you can see, that is not the case at all.”
He said because of the surveillance on his building back then, they never expected that he would even make an attempt to come to the place. “Here we are with our continuous surveillance team, which was formed in synergy with other sister agents has yielded result as the suspect was apprehended while going out from this building with a Sienna vehicle fully loaded with drugs,” Babatunji said.
Onunkwe, however, said that he never knew that one of his boys whom he settled after his apprenticeship and who was still staying with him prior to the raid and subsequently his arrest by the police was using his house to revalidate expired drugs.
Medical experts and observers who expressed concern over the danger posed to the populace in the face of increasing circulation of fake and expired drugs, said it remains is a potential threat to public health.
According to them, Nigeria government seems to have totally lost control of the importation and manufacturing of fake, expired and toxic drugs, adding, “This is not unexpected given the frequency and zeal with which drugs are freely manufactured, imported and marketed across the country.”
Meanwhile, NAFDAC has received seized drugs from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Port Harcourt. The Area 1 Command of the NCS in Rivers State handed over the intercepted drugs to the NAFDAC in Port Harcourt during a recent media briefing.
The Area 1 Command of the NCS, Port Harcourt, intercepted the consignment of fake pharmaceutical products falsely declared as motorcycle spare parts.
The illicit goods were formally handed over to the NAFDAC for further investigation and disposal.
The handover ceremony, held at the Command’s Training Room, was presided over by the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller YM Hashim, and witnessed by officials from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Department of State Service (DSS), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service and stakeholders from various freight forwarding associations.
Comptroller Hashim disclosed that the seizure followed a routine inspection of a 1x40ft container declared to contain motorcycle spare parts imported from China. However, a detailed examination revealed a shocking discovery of 2,455 cartons of unregistered pharmaceutical products branded as ‘Gebedol’, each containing 10 packs of six sachets.
He said the drugs were concealed among 23 cartons of genuine motorcycle parts and 12 bags of other items. The total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the entire consignment was estimated at ₦3,293,726, stressing that the actual cost of such illegal pharmaceutical imports could not be measured in naira, stressing the profound threat they pose to public health.
“Fake drugs kill. They destroy families, weaken our healthcare system, and pose a serious threat to national security. Those involved in such criminal acts are no different from terrorists,” he stressed.
Hashim, who commended the officers and men for their vigilance, professionalism and acknowledged the critical intelligence support from sister agencies, pointed out the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding between NCS and NAFDAC, which he described as instrumental in curbing the influx of counterfeit drugs into the country.
Comptroller Hashim called for deeper synergy among regulatory and security bodies to shift from reactive seizures to proactive, intelligence-driven operations aimed at preventing such crimes before they occur.
In his response, Deputy Director of NAFDAC’s Port Inspection Directorate, Adepoju Bayo Raufu, commended the Customs Service for their swift and effective action and cautioned that the seized drugs could have caused devastating harm to the public if they had been allowed to circulate.
Raufu assured stakeholders that NAFDAC would immediately commence investigations, supervise the destruction of the fake pharmaceuticals and pursue those behind the illicit importation.
He also reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to protecting public health and strengthening collaboration with Customs and other enforcement agencies. The interception, he noted, serves as a model for effective inter-agency cooperation in safeguarding lives and preserving regulatory standards.
Comptroller Hashim, who handed over the intercepted consignment to NAFDAC, assured members of the public that the Area 1 Command remains fully committed to vigilance and the protection of lives, that the safety of Nigerians will never be compromised.
“The safety of Nigerians will never be compromised. The Area 1 Command remains vigilant and fully committed to protecting lives,” he added.
