The Lagos State Police Command has arrested one Benjamin Ojukwu, on Friday, March 30, 2018, at the Ojuwoye market in the Mushin area of the state, for selling adulterated wines.
According to the reports, the suspect revealed that he learnt how to make wines and spirits in China.
“I was in China to learn how to mix and produce wines and hot drinks and when I got back to Nigeria in 2015, I started my own business in Nnewi, Anambra state.
“I had to relocate to Lagos to start afresh when my factory got burnt,” Ojukwu confessed.
During his confession, Ojukwu also said that he has been refilling branded bottles with his own products to ensure more patronage from customers, as he has been unable to promote his brand.
When asked he planned to achieve his dream as a winemaker, the 55-year-old suspect noted that he planned to make enough profit from his sales of adulterated drinks before marketing his brand.
Health agency raises alert on fake alcohol circulation
According to an announcement made by the National Agency for Food and Drug Control (NAFDAC), there has been a surge in the circulation of fake alcoholic drinks.
This was revealed by its director for Special Duties, Dr Abubakar Jimoh, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday, August 23, 2016.
In the interview, Jimoh disclosed that the consumption of harmful alcoholic substances by the youths in the society has had an exponential effect on the increase on crime rates, as such drinks spur them to misbehave.
“Drinking alcohol is bad enough and people are always advised to take it in moderation; so, the danger associated with taking a fake drink can only be imagined,”
“We have found that the youths rely on such drinks to gather enough courage to commit all manners of atrocities like armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, killing and the rest.”
To combat this, Jimoh explained that NAFDAC has increased its efforts in stopping activities that promotes drunkenness through raids and bylaws.
Focus has been in areas such as Edo and Delta States, which produce drinks that are known to harm vital organs of the body.
Speaking further on the menace of alcohol, the special duties director also commented that regular consumption has rendered many youths unproductive.
Agriculture is an area of economic growth that requires energy and youthfulness, but the circulation of harmful drinks have robbed the sector of the needed manpower.
“They have also led to the gradual decline in the health status of many youths and totally destroyed their capacity to contribute to societal development,”
“Farming requires a lot of energy– which is the asset of youths. The drinks destroy that energy, hence the need to rid society of them”, he said.
Source: Pulse.ng
