The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has solicited the cooperation of security agencies in Anambra to combat the menace of fake and counterfeit food and drugs.

Martins Iluyomade, director of NAFDAC in charge of the South-East, gave this indication when he visited the Anambra Commissioner of Police, Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 13 and the director of the State Security Services (SSS) in their respective offices.

Mr Iluyomade said Anambra was strategic to drug distribution in Nigeria and that if fake and counterfeit products could be checked in the state, a large part of the menace in the country would have been solved.

The zonal director, who was accompanied by Louis Madubuatta, the coordinator of NAFDAC, Anambra, and Victoria Akudu, the zonal public relations officer, said they were at the police command to put a face to the long-standing partnership between the two federal agencies.

He thanked the police in Anambra for their cooperation over the years but expressed displeasure that some police officers within Onitsha had become regulators instead of helping NAFDAC in enforcement.

“The collaboration between NAFDAC is rooted in the act establishing the agency, so I am here to bring that partnership to life in Anambra and the entire South-East.

“Anambra is strategic to drug distribution in Nigeria; they are very industrious, so we want to protect the people and the hardworking manufacturers and entrepreneurs

“We want to ensure that when people buy a product, they will be getting the full value of what they are consuming,” he said.

Mr Iluyomade called on genuine manufacturers to approach NAFDAC and regularise their operations by subjecting their processes to the agency’s supervision instead of counterfeiting other products and compromising public health and safety.

The zonal coordinator urged the SSS to use its grassroots intelligence resources to enhance its surveillance capacity.

He said it was the effectiveness of the interagency collaboration that resulted in the busting of the beverage-producing syndicate in Aba, Abia State, where over 240 shops in a market were used for the production of fake drinks.

“Imagine if that volume of adulterated drinks found its way into the market and society,” he said.

In his response, CP Aderemi Adeoye, Commissioner of Police in Anambra, promised the full cooperation of the command whenever their assistance was needed.

Mr Adeoye expressed surprise at the phenomenon of ‘NAFDAC Fegge’, which was a name for some unscrupulous personnel who performed the role of the regulatory body.

He promised to investigate the activities of such personnel with the assurance that they would be severely penalised while urging NAFDAC to provide information that could help track them.

“No police officer should take custody of a regulated product seized by NAFDAC unless the agency deposits it for safety reasons, and if they do, the item should never be tampered with by the police because it is evidence. Doing so will amount to an offence.

“We are always available to work with you; whenever you need our services, just inform us,” he said.

Earlier in his office, Godwin Aghaulor, Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 13, Ukpo, commended NAFDAC for its commitment to saving humanity through the regulation of products.

Mr Aghaulor said the problem of fake products and their threat to society was real and assured that the zonal command would collaborate with the agency whenever needed to effectively execute its job.

(NAN)