By Bon Peters
PORT HARCOURT/Nigeria: The Nigeria Customs Service, Area 1 Command, Port Harcourt, has intercepted a large consignment of fake pharmaceutical products falsely declared as motorcycle spare parts and has officially handed them over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The handover ceremony took place on Tuesday at the Command’s Training Room in Rivers State.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Customs II, Barilule Jane Aanee, disclosed in a press release that the event was presided over by the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller YM Hashim, and witnessed by representatives of the NDLEA, DSS, Nigeria Immigration Service, Quarantine Service, and freight forwarding associations. According to Comptroller Hashim, the illicit shipment was uncovered during a routine inspection of a 40-foot container from China, which was falsely declared to contain motorcycle spare parts.
Upon examination, the container was found to hold 2,455 cartons of unregistered pharmaceutical products branded as “Gebedol”—each carton containing 10 packs of 6 sachets—concealed alongside 23 cartons of motorcycle parts and 12 bags. The consignment had a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N3,293,726. “There is no monetary value that can equate the lives these fake drugs could destroy,” Comptroller Hashim said, adding, “Fake drugs kill. They weaken our health system, destroy families, and pose a national security threat. Those behind this are no different from terrorists.”
Commending the vigilance of his officers and the intelligence support from other agencies, Hashim highlighted the existing Memorandum of Understanding between Customs and NAFDAC as a crucial framework for intercepting counterfeit goods. He further called for deeper collaboration among enforcement agencies to shift from reactive seizures to proactive, intelligence-led prevention strategies.
In his response, Deputy Director of NAFDAC’s Port Inspection Directorate, Pharm. Adepoju Bayo Raufu, applauded the Customs Service for its swift action in seizing the illicit drugs, warning that their circulation could have caused devastating harm to the public. He assured that NAFDAC would immediately begin investigations, supervise the destruction of the fake drugs, and pursue the perpetrators. Describing the interception as a model of inter-agency synergy, Raufu reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to protecting public health and strengthening its ties with Customs and other security agencies.
