The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed three alcohol manufacturing companies in Ota, Ogun State, for allegedly producing alcoholic beverages in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles in violation of the Federal Government’s ban.
The enforcement operation was led by the Assistant Director of NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, Kunle Ojo, as part of the agency’s nationwide crackdown on prohibited alcoholic products.
According to a statement by NAFDAC, officials discovered multiple regulatory violations during inspections of the affected factories.
At the first facility, inspectors found sachet alcoholic drinks in active production alongside large quantities of PET bottles. Although the factory was initially placed under regulatory hold, a follow-up inspection revealed that the sachet alcohol products had been secretly removed from the premises despite the enforcement order.
NAFDAC described the removal of the products as a serious violation, noting that they were already under regulatory restriction.
At the second company, whose identity was not disclosed, the enforcement team allegedly caught workers continuing the production of sachet alcoholic beverages despite the Federal Government’s ban. The premises were immediately sealed.
The agency also revisited a third factory that had earlier been inspected in January. During the earlier operation, NAFDAC said it placed 22 production machines under seal and confiscated millions of PET bottles and sachet packaging materials for destruction.
However, officials discovered during the latest inspection that the company had allegedly broken the official seals, resumed operations, and continued producing sachet alcoholic drinks. Millions of additional PET bottles were also found at the facility, prompting the immediate sealing of the factory.
Reaffirming its commitment to enforcing the nationwide ban, NAFDAC said it would maintain a zero-tolerance approach to regulatory violations aimed at protecting public health and eliminating prohibited alcoholic products from the market.
The agency also urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report the illegal production or sale of banned sachet alcoholic beverages to the nearest NAFDAC office.