Crime & Punishment of Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Source: GNA

Food and Drugs Board arrests herbalist

Accra, June 7, GNA - A herbalist, Tony Ahorsu, has been arrested and handed over to the Police for allegedly producing and selling unauthorised herbal concoctions that he claimed served as an immune booster. The herbalist, operating behind the Paloma Hotel in Accra, was arreste= d by the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) and would be prosecuted.

Officers from the Drug Inspectorate Division of the FDB accompanied by the Police on Tuesday inspected the premises of Ahorsu, a wooden structure, and expressed disgust at the unhygienic nature of the place. There were maggots competing with the products for space, bottles filled with the concoctions were packed on the floor and the stench at the place was unbearable.

Mr James Lartey, Communications Officer of FDB, told the Ghana News Agency that the Board had complaints from people who patronised the product= , saying the concoction smelled and there were particles in it. "The place is so stinky and dirty. Such a place should not be used t= o manufacture herbal products. The health of the people must be taken into account," he said.