How NAFDAC Nabbed Aba's Most Wanted Fake Drug Dealer After 5 Months On The Run

... Suspect Lazarus Onwukwe caught attempting to escape with drug-loaded vehicle, denies allegations of expired products

ABA, Abia State - After five months of intense manhunt, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has finally arrested a suspected notorious fake drug dealer, Lazarus Onwukwe, in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

Onwukwe, accused of operating the largest mini-factory for expired and rebranded drugs in the South-East, was nabbed on Thursday, July 24, 2025, while allegedly attempting to flee from his residence in Umuocheala, a community on the outskirts of Aba.

According to Omoyeni Babatunji, NAFDAC's Deputy Director of Investigation and Enforcement in the South-East and South-South, the suspect was intercepted while trying to exit his compound in a Sienna vehicle already loaded with various pharmaceutical products.

Babatunji told newsmen that the suspect had evaded arrest since February 11, 2025, when a joint security operation by NAFDAC, the Nigerian Army, the Police, and the Department of State Services (DSS) uncovered a sophisticated mini-drug production hub in his residential compound. The facility, according to the agency, was used to revalidate, repackage, and rebrand expired drugs for public distribution.

"This factory is the largest of its kind discovered so far in the South-East," Babatunji disclosed, adding that the recovered drugs would be subjected to laboratory analysis and tendered as evidence during prosecution.

The NAFDAC official revealed that despite the earlier sealing of the buildings, the premises had been shockingly rented out to new tenants. However, no drugs were found inside the compound during Thursday's raid.

In a dramatic twist, the suspect, Lazarus Onwukwe, who admitted ownership of the buildings, claimed ignorance of NAFDAC's prior operation. According to him, the property served only as storage for "genuine foreign drugs," and he denied ever dealing in expired pharmaceuticals.

"I was sick for over three months and was not running away from NAFDAC," he said, insisting his wife rented out the buildings unaware they were sealed.

The arrest of Onwukwe marks a significant breakthrough in NAFDAC's fight against the distribution of fake and harmful drugs in Nigeria. The agency reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that Nigerians are protected from hazardous substances and unregulated pharmaceutical activities.

As investigations progress, NAFDAC has vowed to bring all collaborators to book and ensure justice is served.