NAFDAC Busts Couple in Delta Relabelling, Repackaging Expired Injectables for Sale in Onitsha

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered an illegal operation in Azagba-Ogwashi, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, where a couple was found relabelling and repackaging expired medical injectables inside an uncompleted building.

According to NAFDAC officials, the expired injectables included gentamicin 280mg—which has been banned for over a decade—chloroquine phosphate 332mg/5mg, ergometrine injection, and several unidentified injectables wrapped in makeshift packaging. Some of the recovered vials had expiration dates as far back as 2018.

Mr. Babatunji Omoyeni, Deputy Director in charge of NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement Federal Task Force for the South-South and South-East, disclosed the operation during a press briefing at the agency’s Asaba office. He confirmed that the suspect’s wife had been arrested and was in custody, while other accomplices fled the scene during the raid.

“We received a tip and acted swiftly,” Omoyeni said. “The house appeared ordinary, with children playing around and the woman braiding hair with a friend. But hidden under chairs and in wrappers were expired injectables. Some boys inside the rooms fled when they saw us.”

Among the shocking discoveries was a 100-litre drum used to soak the injectable vials in chemicals to erase expiration dates and other identifying marks. The cleaned vials were then given new labels and expiry dates before being repackaged into cartons and sent to the Ogbogwu Market in Onitsha for distribution.

Dr. Martins A. Iluyomade, NAFDAC Director for the South-East Zone, condemned the act in strong terms, likening its impact to that of terrorism. “This is worse than Boko Haram,” he said. “Using chemicals to erase vital drug information and reselling them to the public is a grave threat to public health.”

He warned that mislabeled and expired injectables could result in treatment failures and worsening medical conditions, as patients would have no way of knowing what substances they were actually being administered.

Authorities say investigations are ongoing, and efforts are being made to apprehend all individuals involved in the operation.