Repackaging Expired Malaria Drugs: Police, NAFDAC Nab 3 Suspects, Recover Banned Goods

By Raheem Ibrahim

Three suspects have been apprehended for allegedly repackaging banned and expired malaria drugs in an abandoned four storey building located in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Two of the suspects were arrested in September while conveying expired pharmaceuticals in a vehicle around the Alaba International Market axis. This led to surveillance and intelligence gathering by detectives, which eventually guided investigators to the location.

During a joint press briefing organised on Wednesday at the site by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in collaboration with the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ojo Division, CSP Opeifa Omolola, provided insight into how the abandoned building was uncovered, tracing the operation to an earlier interception of expired drugs.

The DPO revealed, “We accosted them and interrogated them, but they did not give us their location or provide any useful information. I had to employ the services of some commercial motorcycle riders (okada) to know exactly where they were operating from.”

She said credible intelligence received about three weeks ago enabled the police to identify and access the building, leading to the arrest of another suspect at the scene and bringing the total number of arrests to three. She added that investigations are still ongoing and that the suspects have been handed over to State Security.

In his address, the Director of Investigation and Enforcement at NAFDAC, Dr Martins Iluyomade, described the operation as a grave threat to national security and public health.

According to him, the building, which consists of 15 flats, had been abandoned for over 15 years and was being used as a clandestine hub for the storage, revalidation and repackaging of banned and expired drugs, including artesunate, chloroquine and other sensitive medicines.

Dr Iluyomade, who is also Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods, explained that monotherapy artesunate is no longer recognised under World Health Organisation (WHO) malaria treatment guidelines, yet the banned drug was found in large quantities at the site.

He said, “What we have found out is that there are people here who are worse than Boko Haram. These products are already banned. Nigeria has banned artesunate. Worldwide, monotherapy artesunate has been banned for over 10 years because of resistance, but some people are still insisting on selling what is already outlawed.

“Worse still, they allow it to expire and then revalidate it. Some expired in 2022 and some in 2024. So it is a double edged sword. It is a banned product and it is expired. They have a chemical here that they use to wipe the expiry date. Only God knows the number of people that have fallen victim to this. That is why you see treatment failures, people treating malaria and dying from preventable illnesses,” he added.

He hinted that similar practices were observed with chloroquine, another discontinued malaria drug, noting that investigators also discovered empty drug tablets and packaging materials used to repackage and reseal medicines for resale.

Iluyomade expressed particular concern over the revalidation of highly sensitive medicines, including centrally acting drugs such as diazepam.

“They will put tablets inside empty cases, seal them and give them to people to use. A bad batch of one medicine can kill more than one million people at a time. This is a serious war. It is a national security issue that we are sleeping on. I do not really know how to qualify this, but it is wickedness of the highest order.”

Responding to questions from journalists on the possibility of capital punishment for those involved in the counterfeit drug trade, he said NAFDAC had long been pushing for stricter sanctions.

He recalled a 2008 operation involving fake sedatives traced to China, where the Chinese suspects were sentenced to death in their country, while the Nigerian counterpart served a jail term.

“I wish we had a law like what we have in China, death sentence straight away. Some NGOs say the death sentence is not fashionable, but somebody is killing people already. We are going to go back to what we did then, working through Interpol, to ensure Nigeria is not used as a dumping ground,” he said, noting that Chinese authorities do not tolerate such crimes.

Iluyomade disclosed that NAFDAC, under its Director General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has submitted proposals to the National Assembly seeking a review of existing laws to introduce stiffer penalties for counterfeit drug offences.

“As I speak with you, this is before the National Assembly. The process is ongoing, and the agency and the DG are pushing very hard for this.”

He warned that counterfeit and substandard medicines contribute to rising drug resistance and worsening health indices in the country.

“When people use fake medicines, resistance builds up. Then when you use the genuine medicine, it will not work. That is the magnitude of what we are dealing with.”

Also reacting to the incident, the Chairman of Ojo Local Government Area, Princess Muibat Rufai Adeyemi, attributed the discovery to sustained collaboration between the local government and security agencies, noting that authorities had no prior knowledge of the activities in the building, which is located in a fully occupied residential environment with active community structures.

She expressed concern that despite the presence of community leaders, Community Development Associations (CDAs) and a Community Development Committee (CDC), no formal report was made about suspicious activities in the long abandoned property.

Rufai Adeyemi said investigations revealed that people had been frequenting the building, working overnight and leaving in the mornings, with food vendors also serving them, yet the situation went unreported.

Following the discovery, the local government immediately invited the relevant CDA chairmen for questioning, stressing that they have a responsibility to know what is happening within their communities. She emphasised that CDAs are meant to serve as the eyes and ears of government and would now be more actively engaged in monitoring their neighbourhoods to uncover and stop similar activities.

The chairman added that the local government has intensified efforts to prevent a recurrence by strengthening collaboration with law enforcement agencies and activating a task force to inspect abandoned buildings and locked up shops across the area.