Wa Police arrest suspected drug paddlers

Wa, June 8, GNA, - The Wa Police has arrested two men suspected to be selling unapproved drugs.

Mr Saley Mumuni Yumbei, 47, and Yussif Jalile, 32 were arrested on June 8, 2017 after a joint committee taskforce combed the Wa Central Market to rid it of some unapproved drugs.

Some of the drugs confiscated included; higher doses of Tramadol 100mg, 120mg and 200mg which exceeded the 50mg requirement, Kwick action and chloroquine among other were seized during the market raid.

Mr Godwin Akudugu, the Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) at a press briefing in Wa said the FDB did not register the seized drugs and had no record of them, and could not ascertain their efficacy.

He said most of those drugs came through unapproved routes into the region which was causing a lot of problems for the region to handle.

The committee was tasked to unearth the use of tramadol in the region which had become a social canker among the youth.

Students and others in the region had resorted to the use of tramadol with some young people mixing it with Energy Drink, which worked on them like cocaine.

Mr Akudugu bemoaned its effects on the development of the youth in the region and said FDB received a complaint from Kinapharma limited of counterfeit versions of its product on the market.

One of their popular drugs that had been duplicated on the market is kwick action, which is a pain relieving drugs.

Mr Akudugu said the committee would intensify its works in other parts of the region and would also educate people more on the use of such drugs and their effects on them.

He advised the general public to desist from engaging in self-medication when they were sick but rather attend the hospital and stick to the treatment given to them by health care professionals.

Mr Latif Adjei Wiredu, the Acting Regional Manager of the Pharmacy Council explained that, tramadol, is a synthetic Narcotic drug that works to suppress pains in the brain.

'There are drugs registered in the country as tramadol hydrochloric that are used for medical purposes and such drugs were not to be sold by pharmacies but upon the request of a qualified medical doctor.'

He therefore warned that counter medicine sellers should desist from the sale of such drugs.

Mr Wiredu explained that, due to the euphoria properties of the drug, people use it during fun-fairs and other exciting activities; stressed that the drug could cause epilepsy and respiratory infections on the users.

Mr Sulemana Alhassan, Upper West Regional Minister set-up the Committee to unearth or reduce the use of tramadol among the people in the region especially the youth.

The committee would be engaging in a post market surveillance to rid the market of such highly unapproved drugs.

GNA