By Desire Uzochukwu
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered an illegal cosmetics production and packaging operation at the Tools and Hardware Complex, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos, with suspected falsified medicine packaging materials also discovered in the market.
The discoveries were made during an enforcement operation at the sprawling market along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, where officials found unlabelled and unregistered cosmetics, empty containers and various packaging materials spread across different floors of a two-storey building.
In a video of the operation shared on its official X account on Saturday, a NAFDAC officials led by Mr Olakunle Ojo were seen inspecting the premises and displaying materials recovered from the building.
Among the items discovered were packaging materials bearing names such as turmeric vitamin C, empty shampoo tubes, lotion containers and materials for different cosmetic products.
Ojo who was conducting the inspection said: “This is exactly what we are able to find at this particular location.”
The team also discovered already-produced glutawhite cream on the upper floor, alongside other packaging materials suspected to be intended for the production and packaging of unregistered cosmetics.
Ojo said the operation uncovered unlabelled and unregistered cosmetics and packaging materials, adding to its series of enforcement raids at the Trade Fair Complex.
In another discovery at the market, the agency uncovered a warehouse on the last floor of a building containing packaging materials for suspected falsified medicines, including Augmentin 625mg and Amplicloxa.
Bottle caps bearing the Gordon’s Gin brand were also reportedly found among the materials.
The latest operation follows previous raids by the agency at the same complex, during which it recovered 728 cartons of Crusader soap, 718 cartons of E45 soap and quantities of Extract Gold whitening soap, all identified by the agency as products banned by the Federal Government.
The repeated discoveries have raised concerns over the circulation of unregistered cosmetics, suspected falsified medicines and other regulated products through illegal manufacturing and packaging networks.
NAFDAC has continued its enforcement activities at the complex as part of efforts to check the production, storage and distribution of substandard, falsified and unregistered products.
