NAFDAC exposes Chinese syndicates allegedly making and distributing fake products in Nigeria

• NAFDAC says some Chinese-linked syndicates are allegedly making fake products in Nigeria.

• The agency says counterfeiters identify popular products and replicate them for the local market.

• NAFDAC says it has destroyed more than ₦1.5 trillion worth of regulated products.

Nigeria’s counterfeit products problem may be taking a more worrying turn, with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) saying some Chinese-linked operators are no longer relying solely on imported fake goods.

The agency says some alleged Chinese counterfeiters have established production and distribution networks inside Nigeria, allowing them to make or circulate fake products closer to the consumers they target.

Martins Iluyomade, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, said intelligence gathered by the agency showed a shift in the way counterfeit products enter the Nigerian market.

According to him, some of the operators identify products that are selling quickly in Nigeria, obtain samples and have them replicated before bringing the counterfeit versions into the local market.

NAFDAC also alleged that some of the networks have logistics companies through which the products are distributed.

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The agency has consequently begun shutting down illegal logistics facilities allegedly connected to the networks, Iluyomade said. The development is particularly concerning because counterfeit products can be difficult for ordinary consumers to distinguish from genuine ones.

NAFDAC has recently dealt with complaints and enforcement cases involving products such as fake toothpaste, cosmetics, contaminated bottled water and unwholesome dairy products.

The agency has also carried out arrests and seizures in several states over alleged counterfeit oral-care products. NAFDAC said some suspects arrested in Kano, Sokoto, Delta and Anambra are facing prosecution before federal courts.

The latest disclosure comes as NAFDAC intensifies its wider crackdown on fake and unregistered products.

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NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency had confiscated and destroyed regulated products valued at more than ₦1.5 trillion during coordinated enforcement operations in Lagos and the South-East.

The agency also recorded 64 convictions involving counterfeiters between June 2025 and June 2026. NAFDAC described the figure as the highest number of convictions it has recorded in one year.

One of the cases resulted in a five-year prison sentence for an operator of an illegal beverage laboratory in December.

The agency says the enforcement campaign will continue as it works to identify the people and networks behind the manufacture, movement and sale of counterfeit and substandard products. It also warned consumers to take extra caution when buying regulated products, particularly those whose packaging, price or source appears suspicious.