Customs impound unregistered medicines worth N5.8m in Sokoto

The Nigeria Customs Service has seized unregistered paracetamol, anti-cold drugs and other pharmaceutical products worth N5.8 million along the Illela-Sokoto Road in Sokoto.

The drugs were handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, for further investigation.

The Acting Customs Area Controller, Deputy Comptroller Haliru Abdullahi, disclosed this during the handover ceremony at the command headquarters in Sokoto on Wednesday.

The seized items included 360 packages of anti-cold drugs, 500 packages of amodiaquine, 140 packages of paracetamol and 100 packages of quinine, with a total duty-paid value of N5,804,062.06.

Abdullahi said importing unregistered pharmaceutical products violates Section 55 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and NAFDAC regulations.

He warned smugglers and dealers to stop the trade, stressing that the command would not tolerate activities that put public health at risk.

“Let me use this opportunity to warn smugglers and those who deal in such unwholesome products that the Sokoto/Zamfara Command, under my watch, will not tolerate any form of smuggling,” he said.

He also praised the officers involved in the interception and acknowledged NAFDAC’s partnership with Customs in tackling the circulation of unregistered products.