The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) yesterday sealed off three warehouses in the Alapere area of Ketu, Lagos, after uncovering a large-scale illegal operation involving fake and expired industrial chemicals, food flavourings, and pharmaceutical raw materials valued at over N1 billion.

Three suspects were arrested in connection with the illegal warehouses. The Director of Investigation and Enforcement Martins Iluyomade described the operation as one of the agency’s biggest busts in recent years.

He said: “This is part of our campaign to protect Nigerians from hazardous and substandard products.

“We received information about individuals disguising their activities as legitimate business, while in fact, they were engaging in crimes that threaten lives.”

He noted that the primary offence was the possession and re-selling of expired chemicals, which were being repackaged, re-labelled, and sold under false expiry dates, some now labelled as valid until 2026.

The agency chief said: “Everyone knows that chemicals are foundational materials, he explained. “Some are used to make other substances, while others go directly into the food and drugs people consume.

“When expired chemicals are used in manufacturing, it becomes impossible to get a safe product.”

The items seized included food flavourings such as roasted beef,Chinook, tiger nut, and roasted chicken flavours, as well as pharmaceutical excipients like propylene glycol and metronidazole benzoate—an active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Also found were caustic soda, sodium bicarbonate, urea fertiliser, and even cola additives, many of which are classified substances that should only be handled by government-approved entities or under strict regulation.