The Nigeria Customs Service, Lagos Command has destroyed 96 containers containing an estimated N12.8bn worth of illicit and expired narcotics.
According to The PUNCH, this was disclosed by the Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, Adonye Dappa-Williams on Thursday.
Dappa-Williams stated that the destruction of illegal goods would discourage their importation and consumption, and that the importers of these goods would shortly face the full force of the law.
On why the volume was much, he said, “It has to do with the guideline that the importation of pharmaceutical products is restricted to very few ports. And that is why the strength of the pharmaceuticals coming here is high; it is purely restricted and it can’t come through any other port. That is why all our destruction has taken place here.”
Mebendazole tablets, royal chest lung tablets, Dr. ibramol tablets, omeprazole capsules, cotrimoxazole tablets, diavita loperamide capsules, diarrhoea stop, and chlorpheniramine malfate capsules were among the 16 brands of illicit and expired medications brought for destruction.
Speaking further, Dappa-Williams said, “We also have other products that failed to meet the statutory import guidelines for destruction. The aforementioned items have all been condemned by courts of competent jurisdiction with a duty paid value of N12.9bn”
He stressed again that the devastation caused by these illegal goods to our kids and families, as well as the subsequent rise in crime, cannot be overstated.
“Let me also use this opportunity to thank our sister agencies for their continuous collaboration and synergy in achieving this giant stride,” he added.
