Fake vaccines seized in China, South Africa just ‘tip of the iceberg’: Interpol

Washington: First came the fake medical-grade masks and coronavirus tests. Now, a new threat has emerged, global police organisation Interpol warns: fake coronavirus vaccines.

Interpol said police in China and South Africa have seized thousands of doses of fake vaccines - a cache it said was just the “tip of the iceberg”.

Police interrogate a suspect in connection with fake COVID-19 vaccines in a detention centre in Kunshan in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province in December.Credit: AP

South African authorities recently seized 400 vials, which held around 2400 doses, of counterfeit vaccines from a warehouse outside Johannesburg, Interpol said in a report on Thursday (Friday AEDT).

The illicit stash also included fake 3M masks. South African officers apprehended three Chinese citizens and one Zambian national in relation to the raid.

In China, police seized a large cache of fake vaccines and arrested about 80 suspects during a recent raid on a manufacturing site, Interpol said.

“Whilst we welcome this result, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine related crime,” said Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock in a statement.

Policemen seize cash in China’s Jiangsu Province in 2020, where police have arrested more than 80 suspected members of a criminal group that was manufacturing and selling fake COVID-19 vaccines, including to other countries. Credit: AP

“Following our warning that criminals would target the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, both on and offline, Interpol continues to provide its full support to national authorities working to protect the health and safety of their citizens.”

French-headquartered Interpol 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.

It said the pandemic had “already triggered unprecedented opportunistic and predatory criminal behaviour”.

“In addition to the dangers of ordering potentially life-threatening products, an analysis by the Interpol’s Cybercrime Unit revealed that of 3000 websites associated with online pharmacies suspected of selling illicit medicines and medical devices, around 1700 contained cyber threats, especially phishing and spamming malware,” the crime agency said.

It said investigations were continuing and it was also receiving additional reports of fake vaccine distribution and scam attempts targeting health institutions, such as nursing homes.

Interpol has repeatedly stressed that coronavirus vaccines cannot be bought or sold over the internet and has urged the public to report such cases of criminal activity.

Last month two European Union officials revealed fraudsters had offered 400 million doses of “ghost” COVID-19 vaccines worth some €3 billion ($4.6 billion) to European countries.

“There is a really large quantity,” one official said. “Nobody has any idea what is actually in these vials [...] The best case is it’s just not working, in the worst case it’s a very serious issue.”

The official, who noted that most of the shots offered to EU governments by traders were purportedly the AstraZeneca vaccine, compared the situation to the start of the pandemic last year when criminals exploited a shortage of masks and other protective equipment.

A second official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was “unclear whether these are genuine vaccine doses or if we are just talking about salt water in small vials.”

The World Health Organisation has estimated that the world’s fake medication market is worth around $US200 billion ($258 billion) a year. While most of these counterfeit products originate in Asia, Interpol warned the pandemic was also spurring a growth in the illicit medication trade in East Africa.

The Washington Post, Reuters