Covid-19 update: Interpol sounds alert for fake medical products
Racketeers may also attempt to sell such products online, according to Interpol.
As demand for medical supplies soars worldwide in the fight against Covid-19, Interpol has put all member-countries on alert against fake or counterfeit products including disposable surgical masks, hand sanitisers, anti-viral and anti-malarial medication, vaccines and test kits for the Coronavirus.
Racketeers may also attempt to sell such products online, according to Interpol. Interpol this month carried out an operation – named Operation Pangea — in at least 90 countries during which 121 people were arrested and potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals worth $14 million were recovered. Some of the fake products recovered were substandard masks, items like ”corona spray” and unauthorized self-testing kits.
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India didn’t participate in Operation Pangea or issue specific guidelines to central agencies or the state police on dealing with fake or counterfeit products. A senior government official pointed out that with the Disaster Management Act invoked countrywide, “anybody flouting the rules or trying to cheat somebody will be liable to be punished under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code”.
