January 30, 2025
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, said it has shut down Cemetery Market in Aba, Abia state, for the second time, over manufacturing, sale and distribution of fake and adulterated bottles of wines and beverages.
NAFDAC director-general Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement, said the market was regarded as the most dreaded and hitherto safe haven for the largest cartel ring for the manufacture of fake wines and beverages in Africa.
She said NAFDAC move to clamp down on the market is geared towards curbing the production and circulation of fake and adulterated bottles of wine and beverages in Nigeria.
She said the operation to raid the market was carried out in conjunction with joint task force comprising the military, State Security Service and the Nigeria Police Force.
According to the NAFDAC boss, the counterfeiters were notorious for adulterating and manufacturing all kinds of drinks and breverages especially bottles of wine of different brands.
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She listed some of the faked products to include assorted wines, Seaman Schnapps, Henessy, Carlo Rossi, Jenney, Chelsea London Dry Gin, Schnapp Dry Gin, McDowells, and Black labels. Others are Gordons, Martell, Campari, Smirnoff Ice, Eva Non-Alcoholic Drink, Evra Non-Alcoholic Drink, Cartel amongst others.
According to her, during the extensive operations by NAFDAC about 250 shops-cum-factories were raided where harmful drinks product were produced and marketed.
“The shops turned factories are very filthy, using water from very unhygienic sources, harmful chemicals, saccharin, colouring, dirty recycled bottles and cloned packaging materials of other brands.
“The adulteration of alcoholic beverages by criminal elements in the country is done by mixing cheaper sources of sugar and starch, besides grapes or fruit, and other harmful chemicals unsuitable for human consumption.
“Over 1,500 cartons of the fake and substandard products were destroyed during the operation. The street value of the confiscated and destroyed fake products in 2023 is estimated at over N750,000,000. The estimated value of products mopped up during the December 15, 2024, operation is N5 billion”.
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The statement disclosed that the products being “revalidated and mopped up” included carbonated drinks such as Fanta, Coca-Cola, Schweppes, Lacasera, Sprite, Hollandia Yoghurt, Super Commando Energy Drink, Feyrouz and Amstel Malta. Others were Peak sachet milk, Cowbell sachet milk, Peak Chocolate Drink, Miksi sachet milk, Cadbury Chocolate Drink and Ovaltine.
These faked products, according to the NAFDAC boss, were before the evacuation produced in Cemetery Market in Aba and neatly packaged and sold to unsuspecting consumers across the country.
Ms Adeyeye commended Abia state Governor, Alex Otti for the support towards NAFDAC’s ‘Operation Clean UP Aba’
She also praised the mayor of Aba South, the interim management committee of the market, and other stakeholders whose collaboration with NAFDAC led to the discovery of another three major warehouses that stockpiled expired products.
