By 
Officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) were on Monday, February 12 ambushed by hoodlums.
They were attacked during an enforcement operation at the Area 1 motor park in Abuja.
The assailants, reportedly armed with stones, confronted the enforcement officers, including mobile policemen, and vandalized the NAFDAC vehicle, shattering its windscreen in the process.
The police intervened swiftly as officers resorted to gunshots and teargas to disperse the aggressors and ensure the safety of journalists and NAFDAC officers caught in the crossfire.
The operation was prompted by an intelligence received by NAFDAC, indicating a significant presence of substandard drugs within the motor park.
Despite the violent setback, the NAFDAC enforcement team managed to seize a substantial quantity of controlled drugs, including Rohypnol, Dizapam, Tramadol (500mg and 225mg), Cocodamol, and assorted aphrodisiacs, alongside some codeine syrups.
The street value of the confiscated drugs is estimated to exceed N5 million,
The team leader, Umar-Ahmed Suleiman, an Assistant Chief Regulatory Officer, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, said:
“This exercise that we just conducted today at Area 1 motor park is as a result of intelligence report received from DSS in 2023, although we have done some part of it then, we are trying to conclude the operation.
“You can see a lot of drug hawkers relaxed selling their products and people patronising them, that was why we raided the place.
“What happened is a normal thing to us in the investigation and enforcement unit of NAFDAC.
“That is why anytime we are going, we go with our armed mobile police officers, and Investigative Police Officers in case of any arrest.
“On our arrival here today, we swung into action but to my surprise, we had not even done half of the work, when the drug hawkers all absconded, not knowing that they were re-enforcing against NAFDAC.
“They came back in full force, attacking us, you can see our vehicle how they broke the glass, throwing stones on us.
“Thank God for the gunshot and teargas released on them and we had to leave the scene.
“Area 1 motor park is a troublesome area for substandard drug sales and the enforcement unit will be going back there to complete the operation,” he said
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