Five Nigerians grabbed for selling unwholesome products

A circuit court in Bolgatanga has remanded into police custody five Nigerians for allegedly selling counterfeit and unwholesome products to unsuspecting customers in Zebilla in the Upper East Region.

Anthony Okereke, 22, a sales person; Jeremiah Oti, 17, a sales person; Emmanuel Sunday Chinemerem, 23, an engineer; Eric Ogbonna, 21, Chemist Apprentice, and Linus Ogbonna, 24, unemployed, would re-appear before the court on June 28, 2022.

They are being held on charges of conspiracy to commit crimes, to wit, selling unwholesome products.

Prosecution is yet to furnish the court with a report on a forensic laboratory test on the products impounded.

The court was presided over by Mr. Alexander Graham, and they would appear again in court on June 28 this year.

Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Joseph Kunsung, said on June 9, 2022, the Zebilla District Police Command, in collaboration with personnel of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), apprehended the accused, who lived in a single room at Saka, a suburb of Zebilla.

The court heard that a search in the room revealed large quantities of assorted liquid substances in containers with inscriptions, such as “LDC teeth solution”, “care anti-infection solution, and “teeth problem-solution”, all suspected to be unwholesome herbal products.

DSP Kunsung said that police also retrieved from the room the original container of the LDC Concentrate, and the label indicated that the LDC product was a detergent for cleaning homes, kitchens, and workshops, with a clear warning that “contact with eye and foodstuff should be avoided”.

He said that on interrogation, the accused said they were employees of Neo Company, a multi-national company with a head office in the United States of America.

DSP Kunsung said that the company had offices in Accra, Kumasi, and other parts of the country, where they received a supply of the products and adulterated it and repacked them in small containers for retail as teeth care, cure for stomach ulcers, and gonorrhoea.

The court heard that when the police contacted the Kumasi branch manager of the LDC company, he said, “the LDC product is a detergent for cleaning homes and workshops and not meant for consumption.”

DSP Kunsong said the products could pose health hazards to users, who mistakenly assumed the substance was safe and warned the public against patronising the products.