Akwa Ibom Police Arrest Suspect Over Alleged Counterfeit Gin Operation

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has detained a 40-year-old man, Ubong Ntiense, in connection with the alleged manufacture and distribution of adulterated alcoholic drinks. Officers also seized five cartons of suspected counterfeit dry gin in Ikot Ekpene. In a statement, the command's public relations officer, DSP Timfon John, said Ntiense was taken into custody on 26 September 2026 at about 1:45 p.m. by police operatives conducting a stop-and-search along Aba Road. He was intercepted while reportedly transporting the products to Essien Udim Local Government Area for delivery, John said. The statement said the police command was stepping up its campaign against the making, distribution and movement of fake and adulterated alcoholic beverages throughout the state, following the arrest and the recovery in Ikot Ekpene. It identified the suspect as Ubong Ntiense, 40, from Ibiaku Village in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area and a resident of Abak Road. He was arrested on 26 September 2026 at about 1345 hours by operatives of the Command. Police listed the seized items as five cartons of suspected adulterated dry gin carrying the fake label "Pointers Special Dry Gin." Each carton held 24 bottles, making a total of 120 bottles. According to police, the suspect and the exhibits were moved to the station for initial investigation. There, he allegedly admitted involvement in producing the fake alcoholic drinks, the police spokesman said. After that alleged confession, operatives obtained and carried out a search warrant at his home and premises, where substances and materials said to have been used to produce the adulterated drinks were recovered as exhibits, John said. John added that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Azare, ordered that the investigation be handled thoroughly and professionally in order to find other people linked to the production and circulation of the counterfeit products.