I have sold unregistered wine for four years –Suspect....SEE PHOTO

Firstclass newsline learnt that a suspected trader in illegal wine,
Alfred Omeke, who was apprehended by operatives of the National Agency
for Food and Drug Administration and Control, says he has sold the
product for more than four years.
Firstclass newsline learnt that 40-year-old Omeke from the Igbo-Eze
North Local Government Area of Enugu State, was nabbed on Sunday, June
14, while allegedly loading cartons of the unregistered wine into a
truck in the Trade Fair, Ojo area of Lagos.
Firstclass newsline learnt that a team of enforcement officers from
NAFDAC, while on a patrol, intercepted the truck and found the illegal
wine.
The agency said the importer of the products used an official
government number plate, RV885 FZE, assigned to the Oil and Gas Free
Zone Authority, to deceive security operatives.
Speaking with a source, Omeke said it was not his duty to ensure the
wine was registered, adding that he had been in the business for more
than four years.
He said, "I am a trader and I am not based in Lagos. I only come to
pack my goods from here. I did not know that selling unregistered wine
is an offence. I am not the importer of the products.
"It is true that the wine does not have NAFDAC registration number,
but my buyers do not complain. I have been selling the wine for more
than four years. I cannot estimate my sales from the products. Since
this trouble started, my business has gone down.
"I do not have a cartel. I buy and sell alone. I have handed the
products over to NAFDAC operatives. They are all imported, but they
are not registered. It is the responsibility of the importer, not me,
to register them.
"I have my stores in Aba, Abia State.
"I came to the Trade Fair area of Lagos last week Sunday to load my
goods, and it was there that I was arrested."
Firstclass newsline learnt that apart from the unregistered wine, the
agency also seized 55 cartons of expired yoghurt in the FESTAC Town
area. The suspects were reportedly assisting investigators on the
source of the product.
The yoghurt, it was learnt, expired in March 2015, but the suspects
allegedly altered the date to March 2016, and continued to sell the
product to unsuspecting consumers.
The Director General, NAFDAC, Paul Orhii, said the agency was working
to curtail the impunity of counterfeiters to safeguard the health of
the nation.
He said, "We are taking steps to arrest this situation through
increased surveillance.
"We want to curtail the excesses of shameless and evil counterfeiters
who are hell-bent on maiming and killing consumers and users of NAFDAC
regulated products.
"We want the public to support us in this fight, as we are determined
to safeguard the health of the nation."
Firstclassnewsline.net