NAFDAC Busts Drug Cartel at Onitsha Market, Seizes Two Trailer Loads of Banned Substances

|By Adejumo Adekunle-

Illicit drugs hidden in plumbing material shops
Officials intercept unregistered narcotics, counterfeit drugs
Onitsha traders lament extended market shutdown

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered a massive cache of prohibited drugs at the Onitsha Bridgehead Drug Market in Anambra State.

The agency made the revelation in a post on its X account, accompanied by a video of the operation. According to NAFDAC, the illicit drugs were stashed inside plumbing material shops to evade detection.

During the raid, officials confiscated two trailer loads of unregistered narcotics, banned tramadol, and counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

The agency’s post read:
“In a startling discovery, NAFDAC uncovered prohibited drugs hidden inside PLUMBING MATERIALS SHOPS at the Onitsha Bridgehead Drug Market. Officials seized two trailer loads of unregistered narcotics, banned tramadol, and counterfeit drugs concealed within these shops.”

This latest crackdown comes amid heightened security measures in Onitsha, where six major markets have remained shut for over two weeks. The prolonged closure has left traders grappling with financial losses.

Security operatives reportedly sealed off the markets in an intensified effort to clamp down on dealers of fake and expired drugs. The affected markets include the Onitsha drug market, Oduwani (Power Tools and Allied) market, Surgical Line market, Plumbing Materials market, Ogbogw u fashion line market, Bridgehead provision market, and sections of the timber dealers market.