Nigeria’s drug regulator, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has uncovered a sprawling network of concealed warehouses used to stockpile counterfeit and prohibited medicines in Lagos State, marking one of its most significant enforcement actions to date.
The operation, carried out around the Trade Fair–Navy axis of Lagos, led to the seizure of more than 10 million doses of fake drugs with an estimated street value exceeding ₦3 billion. Among the confiscated items were counterfeit emergency medicines, injectable drugs, antibiotics, and other pharmaceutical products banned from circulation.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement and Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Fake and Substandard Products, Mr Martins Iluyomade, explained that the raid followed intelligence gathered during an enforcement training session held on February 3. Subsequent surveillance revealed suspicious activity in an area that appeared quiet and largely uninhabited.
According to Iluyomade, operatives discovered that several buildings designed to look like residential homes were in fact being used solely as storage facilities for fake medicines. Their isolated location allowed the operators to evade detection for an extended period.
A detailed search of the warehouses revealed large quantities of counterfeit injectable anti-malarial drugs, sachet medicines, blister packs, antibiotics, and cosmetics. Officials also recovered Analgin, a drug that has been banned in Nigeria for over 15 years due to safety concerns.
Describing the discovery as deeply troubling, Iluyomade warned that many of the seized drugs were intended for emergency medical use, including treatments for severe conditions such as cerebral malaria.
“These are not harmless fake products,” he said. “They are critical, life-saving medicines. When patients receive counterfeit injections in emergency situations, the consequences can be deadly.”
He further noted that the fake products were produced with such sophistication that even pharmaceutical manufacturers can struggle to distinguish them from authentic medicines.
NAFDAC confirmed that the confiscated items were removed from the site using eight fully loaded trailers, underscoring the scale of the illegal operation.
“This intervention is a major win for public health,” Iluyomade stated. “These dangerous products have been stopped before reaching hospitals, pharmacies, and patients.”
Preliminary findings suggest that the warehouses were linked to an international counterfeit drug syndicate with operatives operating both within Nigeria and abroad. According to Iluyomade, the syndicate reportedly obtains samples of genuine medicines, replicates them overseas with near-perfect precision, and smuggles them back into Nigeria’s drug distribution network.
He warned that such organised criminal activity poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s healthcare system, endangering lives and damaging the credibility of legitimate pharmaceutical brands.
Iluyomade also disclosed that several drug manufacturers had previously alerted NAFDAC to the circulation of counterfeit versions of their products, often distributed in small quantities to avoid drawing regulatory scrutiny.
He urged Nigerians to remain cautious when purchasing medicines, stressing that unusually low prices could be a warning sign.
“If a drug seems too cheap, don’t assume it’s a good deal,” he cautioned. “It could cost you far more than money—it could cost your life.”
