NAFDAC shutdown Chocolate Royale because they had in their procession, over N1b worth of expired products. The outlet was sealed following a tip-off and intelligence report which indicted the company of illegal importation, storage and use of
expired ingredients and food products for preparing of food and confectionaries. .
All food products/source material had expired – the oldest since 2004 and the newest in 2013. There were maggots found in some. Illegal cold rooms were found in the building and in the MD – Amin Moussalli‘s house. The contaminated food products were stored in cold rooms on top of sewage (‘suck away’ pit) and in front of toilets.
Announcing the closure, the Director, Investigation and Enforcement of NAFDAC, Mr. Kingsley Ejiofor disclosed that some top officials of the company were equally arrested for interrogation for willfully obstructing the NAFDAC operatives in the course of their duties during the exercise which lasted over, 9 hours. .
The expired products worth over N1bn had been evacuated from both premises in six vans. NAFDAC’s Director-General, Dr. Paul Orhii, who frowned at the development disclosed that apart from the products being expired, they were not registered by NAFDAC therefore should not have come into the country in the first place. .
Chocolate Royale is a subsidiary of AIM Group belonging to a Lebanase business mogul, Mr. Amin Moussalli, who is also the owner of broadcast stations; Cool Fm, Nigerian Info Fm, Wazobia Fm, Cool TV, Wee TV and Wazobia TV among other business interests in Nigeria….. d fear now is dt he might shutdown all his businesses if he isn’t pardoned on time…..