By Richards Adeniyi
The Compliance Team of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service said it had intercepted fake pharmaceutical products and other prohibited items valued at about N94.7m, suspected to have been imported from India.
The Comptroller of Customs, Abubakar Azarema, who is also the National Coordinator of the Team, announced this to newsmen Wednesday in Benin.
Azarema said that 1,149 cartons of the unidentified pharmaceutical products were smuggled into the country through Lagos ports.
He said the drugs were unverified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and were suspected to be unfit for consumption.
He, however, said that the NCS was particular about safeguarding the health of Nigerians.
The comptroller immediately handed over the pharmaceutical products to Mr Godwin Tonwuru, the NAFDAC State Coordinator in Edo, where they were intercepted.
The comptroller said that the service would not relent in the fight against smugglers. He, however, advised importers to always respect the rules by importing legal and approved items.
Azarema urged importers to always apply for approval from relevant authorities before importing goods.
Tonwuru expressed the agency’s appreciation over the NCS’s synergy in the fight against drugs not certified for human consumption.