Fake drug traffickers deserve life jail

COUNTERFEIT drug traffickers and food dealers who indulge in fakery are mass murderers. They are treated as such in developed countries of the world. But in Nigeria, weak regulation and corruption have conspired to encourage a boom in the illicit trade. This has endangered many lives and killed not a few.

The alarming rate of the deadly trade recently prompted the House of Representatives to begin the process of amending Sections 3 and 10 of the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Act, 2004, with a view to prescribing life imprisonment for those caught in the act, or be made to pay a fine not exceeding N10 million. The extant law is not deterrent enough. Tightening the noose on these merchants of death has, therefore, become necessary and should be speedily done.

Reports indicate that the racket is worth more than $75 million in the Nigerian market, and the felons are becoming more sophisticated, devising new methods and adopting global strategies to keep themselves off the radar of law enforcement agents. The Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Paul Orhii, admits that the phenomenon is the “biggest challenge” facing the agency. He stresses that stringent sanctions against the traffickers will provide additional impetus to the crusade against the vice.

 An apt picture of the lethal result of counterfeit drug is the My Pikin syrup saga, which resulted in the deaths of about 80 children in 2008. The medication, which was used for treating sore gums in teething babies, was contaminated with engine coolant, diethylene glycol. Of the three suspects linked with the disaster, two were sentenced to seven years jail term each, while the third accused died while facing trial.

A former DG of NAFDAC, Dora Akunyili, had raised our national consciousness about the dangers of drug counterfeiting by the zest with which she fought the battle, especially against dealers at Onitsha market in Anambra State. She almost lost her life in the process. But NAFDAC’s passion for the war has waned considerably after Akunyili’s exit. However, NAFDAC under Orhii has introduced the use of cutting-edge technologies in dealing with the challenge. Some drugs are now Mobile Authentication Service Enabled, with a unique 10-digit PIN. The panel is scratched and the buyer texts the 10-digit number to 38353 for an immediate reply that confirms the authenticity, or otherwise, of the drug. Many pharmaceutical companies should be made to embrace this technology because of its effectiveness in addressing this challenge.

So pervasive is drug imitation in the country that doubts about the efficacy of many drugs on sale is prevalent. Researchers’ test of 13 brands of artesunate-amodiaquine combinations purchased from pharmacies in Lagos in 2012 revealed that 85 per cent failed to meet US Pharmacopea (a reference work of approved medicines) specifications for one of the actives.  The finding, which was published in African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, noted, “It is a Herculean task to monitor every single batch of every single brand in these poor countries due to lack of quality control infrastructure and limited manpower in the relevant agencies in these countries.”

While the legislative response is imperative in tackling the issue, both NAFDAC and the Federal Government need to do more by taking appropriate steps to stop these fake drugs and their mindless importers at the countries of origin. Asia is the leading global corridor, with India and China as the most notorious for the business. The illegal market accounts for about 30 per cent of drugs consumed globally. A vice-president at Deloitte’s, the global audit and consultancy group, Terry Hisey, says the annual global worth of the illicit market ranges between $50 billion and $200 billion. Consequently, awareness of its fatal upshot is pushing many countries in the developed world to tighten their pharmaceutical regulations.

One of such countries is the United States of America, which recently fined a leading Indian drug maker $500 million after it was found guilty of misrepresenting clinical generic drug data and selling adulterated drugs to the US. Ironically, China, one of the major culprits, has revised its laws too, in a manner that makes more counterfeit drugs manufacturers open to criminal prosecution. There, prison term is mandatory; and in some circumstances, offenders get the death penalty. This was the case with the two men found culpable for the poisonous milk powder that killed at least six babies and sickened about 300,000 others in 2008.

Nigeria should adopt the Chinese approach and do away with monetary penalty as an alternative to jail term. As a money-spinning business, fines can easily be paid, and thus, becomes an incentive to violators to continue with their illegality. The diplomatic tool could also be handy for our country in dealing with this menace. China and India dominate our economic ties with them; therefore, any threat or protest from the Federal Government will strike the right chord. Drug traffickers are, indeed, mass murders. No effort should be spared in protecting Nigerians from these common felons.