By By Elizabeth Ugbo
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered a massive counterfeit drug operation in Lagos, seizing more than 10 million doses of fake and banned medicines hidden inside warehouses disguised as residential buildings, following intelligence-led investigations into suspicious pharmaceutical activities in the Trade Fair–Navy area.
Briefing journalists on the discovery, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement and Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Fake and Substandard Products, Mr. Martins Iluyomade, said the raid was triggered by information obtained during a training meeting held on February 3. Acting on the intelligence, enforcement officers traced the activities to a secluded area where several warehouses were constructed to look like homes.
According to Iluyomade, the location was deliberately chosen because it is largely deserted and rarely visited, allowing the operators to function without drawing attention. Inside the buildings, officials recovered huge quantities of counterfeit medicines, including injectable anti-malarials, antibiotics, sachet drugs, blister packs, and prohibited products such as Analgin, which has been banned in Nigeria for more than 15 years.
He described the discovery as alarming, noting that the fake products were not harmless supplements but critical, life-saving medicines used in emergency situations such as severe malaria. Iluyomade warned that the use of counterfeit injections in such cases could lead directly to death.
NAFDAC estimated that the fake anti-malarial injections alone could have put more than three million lives at risk, while the total quantity of seized products exceeded 10 million doses. He added that the counterfeit drugs were so expertly produced that even manufacturers often struggle to distinguish them from genuine products.
The street value of the confiscated items was put at over ₦3 billion, with eight trailers loaded with fake medicines and cosmetics evacuated from the site. Iluyomade described the operation as a major success and assured Nigerians that the seized products would not reach the market.
He further revealed that the syndicate behind the operation is believed to be international, cloning original medicines by reproducing near-perfect copies abroad and reintroducing them into Nigeria’s supply chain with the help of collaborators.
NAFDAC warned that counterfeit medicines pose a serious threat to Nigeria’s health system and urged citizens to buy drugs only from registered pharmacies, avoid medicines sold by street hawkers, verify authentication codes, and be wary of unusually cheap products.
The agency also cautioned distributors against aiding the circulation of fake drugs, stressing that such products cannot enter the market without cooperation within the distribution chain.
Iluyomade disclosed that four suspects were arrested at the scene, while investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend the main operators behind the cartel.
