The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has confiscated alcoholic beverages estimated at N300 million during enforcement raids on markets across Lagos State.
The agency said the products, packaged in sachets and PET bottles of less than 200 millilitres, were recovered from traders allegedly involved in their distribution and sale.
The enforcement operation covered Ile-Epo Market, Ojuwoye Market in Mushin and Oke-Arin Market on Lagos Island.
At Ile-Epo Market, NAFDAC officials shut some outlets and arrested operators suspected of dealing in the prohibited beverages. Several cartons of the products were also evacuated from Ojuwoye and Oke-Arin markets.
NAFDAC said its investigation revealed that some distributors and retailers had allegedly resorted to hoarding the banned products following increased demand and a rise in their prices.
The agency, however, warned that the existing prohibition on alcoholic drinks packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml had not been lifted.
It urged distributors, retailers and other traders to immediately stop stocking, selling or distributing the affected products.
NAFDAC warned that traders who continue to deal in the prohibited beverages risk arrest, closure of their outlets and other regulatory sanctions.
The agency also directed operators who still have the products in their possession to remove them from their business premises, stressing that further enforcement raids would be conducted across Lagos.
The Lagos operation is part of NAFDAC’s broader nationwide crackdown on the distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small PET bottles in violation of existing regulatory restrictions.
