Officers of the Nigerian Police Force, Lagos State Command, have arrested two suspects over the production of fake drinks in Lagos on Wednesday.
The suspects named Imo Lawrence and Magnus Nwonka, were in possession of fake drinks when arrested.
According to the Lagos Police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin in a statement on X platform, the suspects led police officers to their “inconspicuous” multi-room factory.
Officers of Ojo Division today arrested the duo of Imo Lawrence ‘m’ aged 35 and Magnus Nwonka ‘m’ aged 42 in possession of fake drinks.
In the course of investigation, the suspects led detectives to their inconspicuous, multi-room ‘factory.’
Investigation is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/dWHH5lYnip
— SP Benjamin Hundeyin (@BenHundeyin) December 20, 2023
Pharmanewsonline.com reports that this is a follow-up to the intelligence action of the officers of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), two days ago, in Cemetery Market, Aba, Abia State, where they intercepted hundreds of fake drinks and beverages produced by counterfeiters.
The agency had embarked on several weeks of intelligence gathering and collation of data on the activities of these merchants of death, before bursting their hideout shops turned factories.
Hundeyin disclosed thus “Officers of Ojo Division today arrested the duo of Imo Lawrence ‘m’ aged 35 and Magnus Nwonka ‘m’ aged 42 in possession of fake drinks”.
In the course of investigation, the suspects, he said, led detectives to their inconspicuous, multi-room ‘factory.’
He however noted that investigation is ongoing on the case.
In the statement, Hundeyin shared a video wherein crates of drinks, plastic containers, and bags of sachet water were seen in flooded and dirty rooms, which serve as the production centres for the fake drinks.
Meanwhile, reactions have started trailing the nefarious activities of these suspects, as X users have berated their action, calling for justice to be served.
An X user with the handle @CitizenOlu wrote: “This is an organised crime with a hierarchy: 1. Manufacturer small & large scale [locations: Aba, Onitsha, Ojo, Ikorodu] 2. Wholesaler 3. Retailer 4. Hotels, clubs, restaurants, supermarkets, hawkers etc.
“And the saddest part is the silence from the communities they live in… silence is complicity! These people are animals that deserve the death sentence!”.
Another X user with the handle @Iambobjay stated: “This is wickedness! If you are going to make fake products at least don’t make them poisonous, the owners and everyone who works in this evil factory should remain in prison for the rest of their lives”.
@KlasickTheHos, also replied to the post thus: “Please channel more energy in this area please. We need to protect more lives as we aim for better security we can fight again fake products”.
