The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has warned against obstruction of its personnel carrying out enforcement operation against substandard drugs and falsified goods.

Director of Investigation and Enforcement, NAFDAC, Shaba Mohammed, gave the warning during an interview on Wednesday in Abuja.

Mr Mohammed who is also the Chairman, Federal Task Force on Fake and Counterfeit Products, said some of the drug hawkers and louts who attacked the enforcement team of the agency in February had been arraigned in court.

He said some of those involved in the attack were facing trial before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of Federal High Court, Abuja, adding that the arraignment would serve as a deterrent to those nursing similar intentions.

He added, “Those arraigned recently in the court are part of those who attacked NAFDAC officials while on enforcement duty some months ago. Arraigning them in court is to pay for their sins. This is also to advise the public to desist from attacking NAFDAC officials on duty.’’

“I will not say there are no counterfeit products in circulation. But such products are brought into the country by unscrupulous elements who do not mean well for the country,’’ he said.

He said such criminals who bring in counterfeit drugs used hawkers to push them into circulation, adding that NAFDAC would not stop arresting hawkers until the whole system was sanitised.

The director said arresting the hawkers would help NAFDAC in tracking sources of counterfeit products whether imported or produced locally.

“The public should support NAFDAC to sanitise the system. Anyone caught in such an act will be prosecuted thoroughly because that is obstruction of the Federal Government team in performing its jobs. Sales of drugs in market places, hawking or in moving vehicles is actually prohibited by NAFDAC law. This is regarded as a criminal act and that is why we are prosecuting those that have committed crimes against NAFDAC act,’’ he said.

He said as the director of investigation and enforcement in NAFDAC, he would work closely with the Federal Task Force, comprising other related agencies to rid the country of counterfeit drugs and goods.

Mr Mohammed listed some of the organisations in the soon to be inaugurated team as Pharmacist Council of Nigeria, and Customs Service, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council.

He said that one of the strategies the task force would be using to curb fake drugs in the country was the manning of points of entry into the country to intercept all counterfeit products.

“We will also be using post marketing surveillance, whose officials would function like undercover agents,” he said.

(NAN)