Couple Arrested For Re-labelling Expired Drugs

Large quantities of expired drugs believed to be toxic are feared to have been consumed by the unsuspecting Ghanaian public. The drugs including procaine penicillin, chloroquine injectables and some tablets, which expired between 2001 and 2002, are believed to have had their expiry dates changed to 2005 with 2002 as the manufacturing date to make them appear current.

A couple, Kwasi Danquah and Martha Yaa Enima, Class ‘C’ chemical sellers suspected to be the brains behind the deal have been arrested by the police. They had in their possession a large quantity of some of the expired drugs. The Police retrieved the dangerous drugs from a house at Sowutuom in Accra.

Danquah who operates drug stores at the Neoplan and Adum Lorry stations, in Accra and Kumasi respectively is suspected to have sold a lot of expired drugs to the unsuspecting public. ASP Kwasi Ofori of the Police Public Relations Unit told the ‘Times’ that that the Police Drug and Law Enforcement Unit, upon a tip-off that some people were re-labelling expired drugs for sale stormed the house and met a group of boys in a hall, busily re-labelling the boxes and containers for the drugs.

Upon interrogation, the boys mentioned the names of the two suspects as those who hired them to do the job for a daily wage of 10,000 cedis.

Consequently, Danquah and his wife were arrested after the police laid ambush for them. The suspects claimed to have bought the expired drugs from Tema. Experts at the Pharmaceutical Council would be contacted to ascertain the toxicity of efficacy of the drugs.