Public warned against buying fake Covid-19 vaccine
“No approved vaccines are currently available for sale online or physically. Any person who buys these drugs is putting themselves at risk and giving their money to organised criminals.”
The SAPS is advising members of the public to be weary of unscrupulous persons that could be attempting to allegedly sell fake Covid-19 vaccines.
This comes as police over the weekend revealed that doses of fake Covid-19 vaccines had been placed on marketplaces of various online social media sites.
Colonel Brenda Muridili said anyone with knowledge of individuals or companies selling Covid-19 vaccines should report to the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600-10111 or send tip-offs on MySAPS app.
Muridili said this comes after police established that people who were arrested in November had advertised the vaccines on a WeChat platform.
Police in November last year, raided a warehouse and arrested four people for contravention of counterfeit goods act, contravention of the customs and excise act as well as contravention of the medicines and related substances act.
“We cannot rule out the fact that they might have used other platforms too, or that there might be other people doing the same thing,” Muridili said.
She said about 2 400 doses of the fake vaccine and fake masks worth R6-million were found at a warehouse in Germiston, Gauteng.
“No approved vaccines are currently available for sale online or physically. Any person who buys these drugs is putting themselves at risk and giving their money to organised criminals.”
Muridili said the police would continue to detect and investigate anyone involved in the organised smuggling and distributing of the unregistered and illicit medicine.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
