NAFDAC Nabs 2 In Trade Fair Lagos Cartel Revalidating N2bn Expired Drinks And Wines
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered an illicit operation at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex where expired and adulterated energy drinks and wines were being relabeled with falsified expiry dates for distribution to bars and clubs.
Two suspects were apprehended, and products seized and evacuated are valued at over N2 billion.
Operatives from NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement (I&E) Directorate raided the Zamfara Plaza and Niger 4 Plaza of the International Trade Fair Complex in Lagos, on Tuesday, where they uncovered the large-scale counterfeit alcoholic beverage operation concealed within makeshift parking stores on the premises.
The enforcement action was executed on the basis of credible intelligence and resulted in the discovery of more than 20 illegal stores engaged in criminal operations within the complex.
Officers found suspects in the process of blending and counterfeiting popular alcoholic beverage brands, revalidating expired and unsafe beverages for resale, and stockpiling banned imported products.
Suspects were removing old, expired labels from drinks (including brands like Bullet Energy Drink, Don Julio tequila, and Jameson whiskey) using chemicals, replacing them with new fake expiration dates, and packaging them with new corks and cartons.
NAFDAC operatives seized thousands of cartons of empty and filled bottles, mini plastic mixing tanks, improvised filters, and packaging materials.
While initial reports cited varying scale estimates across different raids in the area (with some multi-facility busts valued in the hundreds of millions to up to ₦2 billion in confiscated and compromised products), the agency sealed the premises and confiscated the items.
