I've sold illegal wine for 4 years-Suspect

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.

According to PUNCH Metro, 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.

Our correspondent gathered 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 PUNCH Metro, 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.

 “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.”

Our correspondent 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.