By Bon Peters
PORT HARCOURT/Nigeria: The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Port Harcourt Area I Command, has intercepted a consignment of expired pharmaceutical products valued at more than ₦59 million, preventing the medicines from entering the Nigerian market.
The seized medicaments were on Wednesday handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for regulatory action following a joint examination by Customs officers, NAFDAC and other security agencies at the Port Harcourt Port.
Customs authorities said the interception averted potential public health risks associated with the circulation of expired medicines, including treatment failure, drug toxicity and antimicrobial resistance.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at the Command’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Salamatu Atuluku, said the seizure underscored the Service’s commitment to preventing expired, substandard and prohibited pharmaceutical products from finding their way into the country’s supply chain.
She disclosed that the intercepted consignment comprised several cartons of expired medicaments with a Combined Insurance and Freight (CIF) value exceeding ₦59 million.
According to Atuluku, the seizure was made during a joint cargo examination conducted by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service in collaboration with NAFDAC and other relevant agencies.
She reiterated that the Service would continue to strengthen border enforcement to prevent the importation of expired, falsified, substandard and other prohibited goods capable of endangering public health and national security.
Receiving the consignment, the Deputy Director of NAFDAC’s Port Inspection Directorate, Pharm. Adepoju Bayo Raufu, commended the Nigeria Customs Service for the interception and assured that the agency would immediately begin the regulatory process required for the safe disposal of the expired pharmaceutical products.
Also speaking, the Zonal Director of NAFDAC, South-South Zone, Pharm. Chukwuma Oligbu, described the handover as another demonstration of the collaboration between both agencies in preventing unsafe medicines from reaching consumers.
He called for sustained cooperation among Customs, NAFDAC and other security agencies to strengthen efforts against the importation of unwholesome pharmaceutical products into the country.
The expired medicaments, along with relevant documentation, were formally transferred to NAFDAC for further regulatory action in accordance with the agency’s statutory responsibility.
Representatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Department of State Services (DSS), freight forwarding associations, other security agencies, industry stakeholders and members of the media witnessed the handover.
