SOUTH African police have seized hundreds of fake COVID-19 vaccines and arrested four suspects in connection with the haul, the Interpol global police co-ordination agency said.
This comes after Interpol, which is headquartered in France, issued a global alert in December to law enforcement across its 194 member countries, warning them to prepare for organised crime networks targeting COVID-19 vaccines, both physically and online.
Some 400 ampoules – equivalent to around 2,400 doses – containing the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston, east of Johannesburg, where officers also recovered a large quantity of fake 3M masks, the agency said on Wednesday on its website.
Three Chinese nationals and a Zambian national were arrested.
Meanwhile in China, police identified a network selling counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines and raided the manufacturing premises, resulting in the arrest of some 80 suspects. More than 3,000 fake vaccines were seized on the scene,
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