NAFDAC has uncovered a counterfeit alcoholic drinks factory in Aba. The facility sits at No. 25 Omenazu Street, Abia State. Officials acted on credible intelligence. They found the operation running in unhygienic conditions. The suspected operator fled when the enforcement team arrived. He left behind a vehicle loaded with counterfeit packaging materials.
Nigeria’s illicit alcohol trade is vast. The Spirits and Wines Association of Nigeria estimates it at about 40% of the market. Roughly two of every five bottles sold are counterfeit or illegally produced. The Federal Government loses over ₦428 billion in revenue annually. In January 2025, NAFDAC confiscated adulterated beverages worth about ₦5 billion in Aba and uncovered over 240 illegal factories. The pattern repeats because the profits are high and the penalties are low.
The vehicle abandoned at the scene contained packaging bearing the names of Sir Edwards Scotch Whisky and Scottish Hills Whisky. It also held empty bottles and a drum with about 200 litres of liquid. Inside the facility, officials found bottle caps, sealing machines, empty bottles, cartons, tanks of liquid concoctions and dirty sieves. They found plastic buckets and 200-litre drums containing ethanol. They also found tree bark immersed in ethanol. The combination raises serious safety concerns. Ethanol and bark mixtures are not whisky. They are poison dressed in a label.
NAFDAC put the value of the equipment, materials and facility components at over ₦500 million. The agency urged the public to report suspected illegal manufacturing to its call centre on 0800-1-623322 or 0700-1-623322.
Winners: NAFDAC, which shows enforcement capacity. Legitimate distillers, who face less unfair competition. Consumers who avoid the product, if the raid removed it from circulation. Losers: The fleeing operator, who loses stock and equipment. The distribution network, which loses supply. Consumers who already drank the product. The treasury, which loses ₦428 billion yearly. Public health, which absorbs the cost of adulterated alcohol.
Bottom Line: A ₦500 million counterfeit operation is shut. Another will open. The trade persists because demand is high and prosecution is weak. Until traffickers face prison, not just seizures, the bottles will keep flowing.