2 December 2008
Lagos — Lagos State Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drug and Unwholesome Processed Foods has shut nine illegal Pharmacy and patent medicine shops, arrested three of its operators and carted away fake drugs.
This is valued at over N100million in a renewed effort to sanitise the drug distribution system in Lagos and save the lives of its citizenry.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who disclosed this in Lagos, explained that the exercise, which is coming on the heels of the war being waged against fake and expired drugs by the state government on one hand and the killer teething medicine, My Pickin, saga on the other hand, is meant to decisively stop the dangers associated with the activities of illegal operators within markets in the state.
He noted that the nine pharmacy and patent medicine shops were shut for offences ranging from illegal operation, location of such shops within or in market areas, refusal to observe the mandated distance between two Pharmacy/Patent Medicine shops, to sales of fake, counterfeit and unwholesome processed foods.
The commissioner noted that penalties for these offences as stipulated in the statue books includes the forfeiture of such fake drugs to the government and their subsequent destruction; payment of N100,000 fine for an illegal pharmacy shop operator located outside a market area; and N500,000 fine for illegal operators located within a market area.
The Commissioner disclosed that the arrests were made in accordance with the mandate of the task force who had arrested no fewer than 524 illegal operators and sealed no fewer than 3, 031 illegal premises within the last 12 months due to the high prevalence of illegal operators in many parts of Lagos.
The Task Force's raid was conducted in conjunction with the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) officials, representatives of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Health and officers of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad.
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They should be arrested and prosecuted fully. If they can jeopardize the lives of people then they are not fit to live in the community as they might be tagged murderers.