The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control ( NAFDAC ) has arrested a man and a woman in Aba for selling banned Analgin injection to unsuspecting residents.
Mr Olisa Okeke, the Abia Coordinator of NAFDAC, made this known on Thursday in Aba in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said although the woman had been released on bail, she was being monitored and would be helping NAFDAC to further the investigation to burst other dealers in that drug ring in Aba.
Okeke said that the man who also stocked the products in his shop has been made to pay a fine of N200,000, while NAFDAC confiscated the remaining drugs in his shop and sealed it.
However, he said that full details of the suspects would not reveal now as they were helping in the investigation and possible arrest of those in their ring.
“We got some expired injections in a shop and also found that the woman who is the owner is a nurse and she is using Analgin injection, a banned product.
“As I am talking to you now the woman has been arrested and have been taken on bail, she is helping NAFDAC to further the investigation.
“We are trying to trace where she bought the analgin injection. Novalgin tablet and Analgin are banned drugs.
“We also got a shop around Umuigbo area where we found analgin injection stocke; we confiscated it and sealed the shop. He has paid N200,000 fine,’’ Okeke said.
The coordinator said that his office stepped up surveillance on faking and selling of expired and adulterated drugs and food products in Abia during the month of August.
He said that the rains and bad roads have not prevented the agency from discharging its mandate.
“I can say that within August we have done a lot of activities and we did not want the rains to deter us because we know the unscrupulous elements in the society, the fakers, would always use this as the period to do their wicked work so we did not want the rain to deter us.
“Most times, wherever our car could not take us, we hire tricycle or motorcycle. There was an operation we had at Omumua road, our officers were able to access the place with a motorcycle and were able to arrest the woman who operates a maternity,” he said.
Okeke therefore called on residents to report unscrupulous persons faking products or selling expired drugs or food products to NAFDAC to safeguard lives.