Task force raids factory producing ‘fake alcoholic drinks’, arrests seven suspects in Anambra

Officials of the operation clean and healthy Anambra (OCHA) brigade and the presidential task force against economic sabotage and oil vandalism have raided a factory suspected of producing and selling counterfeit alcoholic drinks in Onitsha town.

Celestine Anere, the managing director of the OCHA brigade, said on Friday that the operatives also arrested seven suspects at the factory known as Aliban on Onowu street, off the Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

He said the factory was raided after operatives of the OCHA brigade received credible intelligence.

Anere added that the operatives also discovered several stores and warehouses that had been converted into factories for the alcoholic drinks.

“During the raid, over 2,000 cartons of wines and already packaged drinks were seized along with unhealthy equipment such as a mixing tank, an improvised filter, and various packaging materials,” he said.

“Bags of empty bottles were also seized. We have also arrested seven suspects during the raid, and they will be prosecuted. The owner is still at large.”

He urged Nigerians to be vigilant when buying alcoholic beverages, adding that they should examine the products to distinguish them from counterfeits before consuming.

Also speaking, Collins Enebeli, state coordinator of the presidential taskforce, described Anambra as a leading state in the production of fake products.

Enebeli said the task force would continue efforts to end all forms of economic sabotage in the country.

One of the arrested suspects said they were only workers at the factory, adding that she was unaware that the outfit was illegal.