The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has handed over 25 containers of counterfeit and unregistered pharmaceutical products worth ₦9.23 billion to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The items included sexual enhancement drugs such as REDSUN and HYEGRA (sildenafil citrate products), codeine-containing cough syrups like CSC brands, antibiotic injections including oxytetracycline and artesunate, pain relief medications with diclofenac sodium and paracetamol, skin-lightening creams marketed as GBOGBONISE and SKIN CHEMIST, hip and breast enlargement products, as well as various tablets bearing fake NAFDAC registration numbers.
While addressing journalist during the handover took at the Apapa Port, Lagos, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, revealed that the seized goods were imported mainly from India.
Adeniyi described the interception as a significant success in the ongoing fight against pharmaceutical smuggling and public health threats.
He attributed the achievement to improved intelligence gathering, advanced port surveillance technology, and stronger inter-agency collaboration, particularly following a Memorandum of Understanding signed with NAFDAC in November 2024.
“This seizure exposes the operations of a sophisticated criminal network and reinforces our commitment to securing Nigeria’s health and safety,” Adeniyi stated.
He warned that those found to be complicit, including freight agents and bonded terminal operators—would face prosecution.
Receiving the containers, NAFDAC’s Assistant Director for Ports Inspection, Ayobami Ibrahim, applauded Customs for the interception.
He stressed that all the products would undergo laboratory analysis to determine their content and potential health risks.
Ibrahim also urged Nigerians to be alert and report suspicious drugs or products, noting that public cooperation is crucial in curbing the distribution of harmful and counterfeit substances.
The latest seizure forms part of a wider crackdown on illicit pharmaceuticals, with over 200 similar containers reportedly intercepted under the reinforced Customs–NAFDAC partnership.
