By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone (PBSL) has destroyed drugs worth over Le 227 million after they had been brought into the country illegally.
The illegal drugs were incinerated in Port Loko on Friday in the presence of government and community stakeholders.
PBSL said this was part of their work to crack down on the illegal drug importation to the country.
In a statement, the Deputy Registrar at the Board, Dr Mohamed Sesay, said this would serve as a deterrent to those engaged in the illegal importation of medical drugs in to the country.
“This actually serves as a deterrent to those unpatriotic people who believe that they can endanger the health of the general public for their selfish gains. These assorted drugs were illegally imported in to Sierra Leone from neighboring Guinea. PBSL has never issued a license to any importer of drugs from Guinea,” he said.
The consignment that was destroyed was seized on the 30th March at Bailor Wharf in Port Loko District, after attempts to smuggle the drugs in to the country failed.
The consignment was seized by the Sierra Leone Navy, acting on intelligence from community people. PBSL said not only were the consignment brought into the country illegally, but they were also found to be full of counterfeit drugs.
When the consignment was smuggled in, Sierra Leone had then shut its borders with neighboring Guinea and Liberia amidst fears of the coronavirus pandemic, but some business people had sought to use local harbors through Guinea to get in to Sierra Leone.
PBSL said they were committed to crack down on more smugglers in the future.
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