FDA destroys GH₵42 million worth of smuggled fake drugs at Ghana-Togo border

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in the Volta Region has taken action by destroying counterfeit pharmaceutical products that were confiscated, with a total value of GH₵42 million.

These products included items such as aphrodisiacs, post pills, body enhancement products, antibiotics, and processed food, among others.

Most of the illegal goods were intercepted at the Ghana-Togo border in Akanu, where they were being smuggled into the country. Additional products were seized during routine inspections and market sweeps across the Volta and Oti regions.

Initially, the products were shredded and disinfected at the Jopong Group of Company’s Medical Waste Treatment Facility in Akrofu before being disposed of at designated dumping sites for incineration.

Gordon Akurugu, the Volta Regional Director of the FDA, stated that they opted to use this facility to ensure the proper disposal of the confiscated counterfeit pharmaceutical products.

He emphasized that pharmaceutical products should only be imported through airports or seaports, not through inland borders, warning that anyone caught using land borders to smuggle such products would face arrest and have their items confiscated.

“We must also clarify that pharmaceutical products are not permitted to cross inland borders, which is why items coming into the country, particularly from Nigeria, are prohibited. If you wish to import drugs into the country, it must be through KIA or Tema ports,” he remarked.