FDA destroys unwholesome drugs, sub-standard products in Ho

The Foods and Drugs Authority (FDA) in the Volta Region has seized and destroyed unwholesome drugs and other sub-standard products worth GHC 10,000, imported illegally by traders.  

Briefing the Ghanaian Times in Ho on Friday, Mr Gorden Akurugu, Regional Head of FDA, said that the safe disposal of the items followed a recent joint operation by the FDA and other security agencies at the Aflao border which led to the interception of two buses from Nigeria carrying the fake pharmaceuticals into Ghana.  

He said that the bogus drugs which were destroyed almost a fortnight ago, included emergency contraceptives, labour inducement medications, various injections and ointments, among others.  

According to the FDA Regional Head, after the confiscation of the counterfeit drugs on the buses, the task force also raided some shops in Ho to seize more of such products from local traders.   

He told the Ghanaian Times that the drivers of the buses and their mates had been prosecuted at the Ho Circuit Court and punished accordingly.  

After that, he said, the court ordered the destruction of the fake drugs.

Mr Akurugu gave the assurance that the exercise would be sustained and intensified, warning that any unruly person who offered fake products for public consumption would suffer swift and ruthless consequences.  

He appealed to the public for information on fake drug dealers, saying “we cannot allow a few selfish criminals to put our lives at risk.”  

The FDA Regional Head has expressed concern over the growing incidence of a large number of women peddling pharmaceuticals of dubious origin on the streets.  

The FDA would fight that nasty trend ruthlessly and definitely prosecute the perpetrators, he further warned.