Nigeria: Police detects illegal breweries

The Nigerian Police with the headquarter in Umuahia, Abia State, arrested 4 persons suspected to have been operating illegal breweries and impounded about 1, 230 fake cartons of assorted brands of bear discovered in the illegal brewers' warehouses in Aba.

Mr Edwin Tonkmor, the commissioner of Police, who was in charge of operation in the zone, said the suspects were arrested based on intelligent reports, describing the illicit business not only as an economic sabotage but an act that endangers public health, especially consumers.

He said that when detectives combed the warehouses and illegal deports of the suspects on Ehi Road and Asa Road, both in Aba, 322 cartons of Guinness small stout, 56 cartons of Star beer and 17 cartons of Gulder were recovered. The police stated other items recovered include 112 cartons of “33” beer, 145 cartons of Maltina cartons of Wilfort Dark-Ele, several plastic basins, locally fabricated corking machines and several bottle corks of various liquor brands.

According to the commissioner of police, soon after the arrests and interception, the production and quality control managers of the brewers of the affected brands, including Guinness Nigeria Plc, Enugu/Aba, Nigeria Breweries Plc, Sona Breweries Plc as well as co-ordinator the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control , Aba were contacted.

A letter from Nigeria Breweries Plc dated October 19, 2005 and endorsed by External Relations Manager, East, Vivian Ikem, read in parts: “As requested by you, we do here by, write to formally report that after laboratory analysis, the samples of the products collected did not match the final specification of our products, in all parameters. We therefore confirm them to be fake.”

Tonkmor therefore, advised the general public to buy the affected brands from only accredited agents/distributors since the adulterated versions of the brands exist in the market.

“Any one who does not buy these products from accredited agents/distributors in the country risks buying these fake products which is in circulation and which can cause unwholesome health hazard,” Tonkmor warned.

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