Nigerian Authorities Seizes Counterfeit Drugs made in China

Counterfeit antibiotics without the power to cure bacterial infections were seized at Abuja airport.

A report published yesterday in The Hindu Business Line, a Chennai-based business journal, described an incident in which a counterfeit version of V.S. International’s ciprofloxacin, believed to have originated in China, was seized by Nigeria’s regulatory authority, The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, at Nigeria’s Abuja airport.

Despite its “Made in India” markings, the shipment had never been in India, instead it was made in China by unscrupulous individuals, shipped first to Frankfurt, and then finally to shipped to Abuja.

When NAFDAC inspected the counterfeit drugs they found little or none of the active ingredient. This phony consignment of Ciprotab was one of the largest seized in Nigeria this year.

Ciprotab is one of the four most faked drugs in Nigeria, with the news source reporting that six out of every 10 packets of the antibiotics are discovered to be fake when inspected.

The People’s Republic of China is working diligently to ensure the authenticity of the secure drug supply chain. The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), the country’s regulatory body, recently exposed 30 counterfeit drug websites and is prosecuting counterfeiters.