Interpol
SAPS has advised the public to be wary of unscrupulous people who are selling vaccines for Covid-19 online.
Spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili says there is currently no approved vaccine available to be sold by private individuals.
She says if you purchase such vaccines you will be putting your health at risk and your money will go to crime syndicates.
She says police have already arrested several suspects for the contravention of the Counterfeit Goods Act and the contravention of the Medicines and Related Substances Act.
Colonel Muridili says in November already they raided a warehouse in Germiston, Gauteng where fake masks and thousands of doses of fake vaccines worth over R6 million were seized.
She says police will continue to investigate anyone involved in the organized syndicates trying to enrich themselves by smuggling and distributing unregistered and illicit medicine.
Police urged anyone with knowledge of individuals or companies selling vaccines to urgently report them.
INTERPOL issued a Global alert in March, warning that vaccines would be a prime target for criminal networks.
In China, police successfully identified a network selling counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines.
Interpol assisted in raiding the premises where the vaccines were manufactured and arrested 80 suspects and seized thousands of fake vaccines.
The Secretary-General for INTERPOL General Jürgen Stock says these arrests are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to vaccine-related crime.
