Police Transfer Arrested Indian To NAFDAC Over Cloned Insecticide
KANO, Oct 14, (THEWILL) - An Indian national, Vijay Lawalni, who was arrested recently in Kano by the police in connection with the importation of cloned RAMBO insecticide into the country has been handed over to the National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC). He was handed over to the agency on Tuesday.
Kano Office of NAFDAC had earlier forwarded its demand for the transfer of the suspect to the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 1, Kano, requesting that the Indian and the case file be moved to NAFDAC office at the Federal Secretariat, Kano.
The zonal police headquarters had last week taken over the case from the Police Command on the request of the management of GONGONI Nigeria Limited, manufacturers of the faked RAMBO insecticide, through the company’s Executive Director, Mr. Kingsley Onwukwe.
NAFDAC, Deputy Director, Mr. Akinwunmi could not be reached for comment when our correspondent called at his office, but a source in the office said the suspect has been moved to Lagos office of NAFDAC.
The long arm of the law last week caught up with the Nigerian based Indian business man over the alleged importation of 1500 cartons of fake Rambo Insecticides, worth N8 million which gotten them manufactured in China.
The suspect was said to have conspired with some dubious businessmen based in China to fake the insecticides solely manufactured by GONGONI, a Nigerian company which also produces other insecticides such as BAYGON.
The Executive Director of GONGONI Nigeria Limited Mr. Kingsley Onwukwe who described the discovery as shocking told newsmen that the fake insecticide, which bears striking resemblance with the one produced by the Nigerian company also bears the same NAFDAC number like that of GONGONI, pointing out that the fake RAMBO was brought in through the Nigerian border with Niger in Katsina State.
He disclosed further that news about the existence of the fake items in Nigeria was brought to the company through one of the major distributors who was approached by middle men of the Indian National to come and purchase the items pointing out that as soon as they got wind of that they made available some money to their distributors to purchase 30 cartons of the fake insecticides which he said is very difficult to distinguish from the original one produced by his company.
The arrest of the middle men in the shady deal, THEWILL gathered led to the arrest of the Indian, Vijay in whose warehouse had over 700 cartons of the inferior insecticides which were carted away while the suspect was said to have owned up their importation from China, revealing that the fake anti-mosquito chemicals where shipped into the country from Dubai in the Middle East.
The GONGONI’s Executive Director, said Vijay in his confession admitted to the crime but said it was his first shipment adding that he has distributed some 500 hundred cartons to Maiduguri, Borno State while others were moved to Singa Market in Kano.