Centre Region: Customs seizes illegal pharmaceuticals amid growing surge of roadside drugs.

The seized items, suspected to be part of an illicit drug distribution network, were immediately transferred to the Centre Customs Sector in Yaoundé for further investigation and legal proceedings.

This latest seizure, pundits say, highlights the growing scale of illegal pharmaceutical trafficking in the country. According to national estimates, at least 25% of all medicines sold in the country originate from illicit supply chains. 

Once concentrated primarily in urban markets, the phenomenon has now spread deep into rural areas, where improvised roadside pharmacies have become increasingly common.

A study by the National Order of Pharmacists of Cameroon, known by its French abbreviation, ONPC, identified these products as counterfeit medicines, falsified drugs, or genuine pharmaceuticals diverted from formal distribution networks. 

ONPC noted that the illicit circuit represents more than a quarter of the national pharmaceutical market, with nearly 40% of street medicines entering the country through smuggling routes.

Alarmingly, the problem is not limited to informal vendors. The ONPC reported that some health professionals, including pharmacists, medical delegates, prescribers, laboratories, and distribution companies, bear responsibility for fueling the illegal trade. 

This situation, it said, has contributed to the bankruptcy of several licensed pharmacies, despite an estimated 100 billion FCFA spent annually on medicine imports.

Repeated crackdowns by the Ministry of Public Health, the ONPC, and security forces have produced limited success. What once began as small-scale sales of aspirin, paracetamol, antiseptics, and basic generics has evolved into a vast underground industry. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3650 of Tuesday December 09, 2025