THE smuggling and selling of counterfeit veterinary drugs is on the increase in Zimbabwe, putting livestock at risk, an official with the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) has said.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
MCAZ senior regulatory officer, Zivanai Makoni said the smuggling and selling of fake veterinary drugs had resulted, in some instances, in cattle dying after the drugs have been administered to them.
Makoni said the smuggling of the fake drugs is rampant in Gokwe, Harare, Karoi and Masvingo, where they are being sold openly in public to unsuspecting farmers.
“From our own investigations so far, it seems these counterfeit drugs are smuggled mainly through Chirundu, Kazungula and Nyamapanda border posts,” he said.
“Dealers connive with truck drivers to smuggle from countries such as Zambia and Malawi, where there are porous medicines control laws.”
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Makoni said the smuggled substandard medicines were brought in handbags and professionally repacked and branded to hoodwink clients.
He said the most common fake drugs being illegally procured include Hitet, heart water treatment cattle, and ESB3 and tick buster, a dipping chemical.
ESB3 treats coccidiosis in chickens.
“We have confiscated and tested these fake drugs. There is no medicinal ingredient in these drugs. For example, most of the tick busters, which we tested, had no acaricide, which is the ideal medicinal component,” Makoni said. He warned farmers to desist from buying drugs from unregistered dealers.
“Farmers should always make sure that they buy drugs from registered drug. Farmers should also seek proper advice from veterinary services officials before treating their animals,” Makoni said.
He said his department and law enforcement agencies would continue to fight the smuggling of fake drugs.