NAFDAC links Chinese to fake goods surge

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised fresh concerns over the growing sophistication of counterfeit trade in Nigeria, saying some Chinese nationals previously involved in producing fake goods abroad are now operating directly within the country.

The agency said the development has made it easier for counterfeit products to be manufactured, moved through established logistics networks and distributed to unsuspecting consumers across Nigeria.

NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, disclosed this while responding to enquiries by The PUNCH in Lagos on Monday.

According to him, counterfeiters no longer need to manufacture fake products in China and ship them to Nigeria, as some operators have established production and distribution structures locally.

“Before, to fake a product, you needed to go to China to bring it. Now, you don’t need to go. They are here (in Nigeria) with us,” Iluyomade said.

He explained that the operators identify products that have strong demand in the Nigerian market, arrange for their counterfeiting and subsequently distribute them locally.

Iluyomade described the development as a “new trend making it (fake goods situation) look this serious,” adding that NAFDAC had also discovered that some Chinese counterfeiters own logistics companies allegedly used to move the illicit products.

“Chinese people (counterfeiters) own the logistics companies which they used to bring these (fake goods) things,” he said, adding that the agency had been shutting down some of the companies.

The revelation comes as concern over counterfeit and substandard products intensifies, with manufacturers, health professionals and economists warning that fake goods pose risks to consumers while undermining legitimate businesses and economic growth.

The scale of the problem is also reflected in NAFDAC’s enforcement operations. The agency’s Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, said regulated products valued at more than N1.5tn were destroyed during a coordinated operation across Lagos and the South-East between February and March 2025.

She added that the agency had, since 2023, destroyed or seized more than N1.54tn worth of counterfeit and substandard products nationwide.

Public concern over fake consumer products surged further over the weekend after Nigerians, including social media personalities Scott Iguma and Aproko Doctor, drew attention to suspected counterfeit products.

Claims involving fake toothpaste, creams, contaminated bottled water and adulterated yoghurt drinks generated widespread discussion online.

NAFDAC said it had also received complaints through its official channels concerning counterfeit toothpaste, particularly products bearing the Oral-B and Colgate brands.

Iluyomade said the agency had already launched investigations and made arrests in connection with the suspected counterfeit toothpaste.

“We have an intelligence report on (fake toothpastes) and have been working on it: we’ve made a lot of arrests and seizures, both in Kano and Sokoto states, Delta State and Onitsha (in Anambra State),” he said.

He disclosed that two suspects were currently facing prosecution over the alleged importation of fake toothpaste brands.

The agency has also pointed to recent operations at the Upper Iweka drug market in Onitsha as part of its broader campaign against counterfeit, falsified, substandard and unregistered regulated products.

NAFDAC said its enforcement efforts were increasingly yielding convictions, with Iluyomade disclosing that the agency secured 64 convictions between June 2025 and June 2026.

“Between June 2025 and June 2026, NAFDAC hit a record of 64 convictions. The highest in its history,” he said.

He cited the conviction of an illicit drinks manufacturing operation as an example of the agency’s tougher approach to prosecution.

“In December, a judge handed five years of imprisonment to one lab that counterfeited drinks, convicting them on all eight grounds,” Iluyomade said.