Baskadia

After finding counterfeit goods at Aba's Cemetery Market, METRONAFDAC detains ten people.

cemetery Market in Aba, Abia State, has to be cleaned up, according to the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control, or NAFDAC. They claim that some of the market's stores have been converted into factories producing counterfeit goods.

The regulatory body made the statement in Aba while briefing reporters on market raids conducted by its employees on Monday and Tuesday, during which counterfeit and expired goods that were dangerous for human consumption were found.

NAFDAC South East Zone director Martins Iluyomade told reporters on Tuesday that they started an investigation after receiving information of suspicious activity in the market. During the course of the inquiry, they found evidence of illicit activity taking place there.

He claimed that numerous stores were turned into production facilities for pricey beverages and wines of various kinds, as well as being used to revalidate expiration dates on merchandise.

The state government is on board with us. 240 stores have been found so far to be utilized illegally for the production of counterfeit goods. There have been about ten people detained, and there are still many being held.

It makes sense that we have a variety of health problems, and what's interesting is that we use our money to purchase this evil. In order to eradicate counterfeit goods from our market, our DG is not stopping at nothing, according to Iluyomade.

The Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders, or COSEYL, expressed disapproval of the finding and stated that it shouldn't be handled lightly in response to it.

The head of COSEYL, Goodluck Ibem, urged the National Assembly to work for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee that the manufacturing and sale of counterfeit goods would be punished with the death penalty.

He assigned the Abia State government the responsibility of providing NAFDAC with more assistance in order to rid the markets of counterfeit goods and free up space for legitimate traders.

In response, Prof. Charles Chinekezi, the head of the Civil Liberties Organization in Aba, advised NAFDAC and other law enforcement officers to take the offense of such crimes more seriously.

He claims that after being freed from custody for the same crime a few years prior, some of the offenders went back to their illicit enterprises.