Interpol Warns Nigeria, 193 Other Countries Against Buying Fake COVID-19 Vaccines

The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has called the attention of Nigeria and other member countries to the possibilities of fake COVID-19 vaccines in circulation.

The INTERPOL Secretary General, Jürgen Stock in a statement on Wednesday warned that there must be a coordinated response from each country’s health and security operatives to prevent citizens from falling victim of the fake or stolen vaccines.

The statement warned that some fake websites run by criminals have started advertising and selling fake COVID-19 vaccines and innocent members of the public must be protected.

The INTERPOL statement titled, ‘Interpol warns of organized crime threat to COVID-19 vaccines’, Stock stated, “As governments are preparing to roll out vaccines, criminal organizations are planning to infiltrate or disrupt supply chains.

“Criminal networks will also be targeting unsuspecting members of the public via fake websites and false cures, which could pose a significant risk to their health, even their lives.

“It is essential that law enforcement is as prepared as possible for what will be an onslaught of all types of criminal activity linked to the COVID-19 vaccine, which is why Interpol has issued this global warning.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday evening, 1st December 2020, confirmed 281 new cases of Coronavirus disease infection in Nigeria.

The new cases of COVID-19 infection were confirmed via a statement on the official Twitter handle of the health agency.

This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria to 67,838 which includes 63,430 discharged cases and 1,176 deaths.