Akwa Ibom police seize 120 bottles of suspected counterfeit gin

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested a 40-year-old man, Ubong Ntiense, over the alleged production and distribution of adulterated alcoholic drinks. Police Public Relations Officer DSP Timfon John said Ntiense was arrested at about 1.45pm on September 26 during a stop-and-search operation along Aba Road in Ikot Ekpene. He was allegedly transporting the products to Essien Udim Local Government Area for delivery.

According to John, officers searched the suspect and found five cartons of suspected adulterated dry gin labelled “Pointers Special Dry Gin”. Each carton contained 24 bottles, bringing the reported total recovery to 120 bottles. The suspect and the recovered products were taken to a police station for preliminary investigation.

The command said Ntiense allegedly confessed during questioning to involvement in producing adulterated alcoholic beverages, although the allegation has not been tested in court. Police subsequently obtained and executed a search warrant at his residence and premises, where they said substances and other materials allegedly used to make the drinks were recovered as exhibits. The state Commissioner of Police, Baba Mohammed Azare, directed that the investigation be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

He said the inquiry would seek to identify other people allegedly connected with the manufacture and circulation of the suspected counterfeit products. Azare described adulterated alcoholic beverages as a public-safety concern because consumers may not know what the products contain or where they originated. He urged distributors, retailers and members of alleged production networks to stop such activity, and advised members of the public to exercise caution when buying alcoholic drinks and report suspicious operations to police or regulatory agencies.