'Crime will increase': Interpol warns against attacks on COVID-19 vaccine shipment

International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol’s chief Juergen Stock on December 21 predicted a hike in organised crimes related to acquiring COVID-19 vaccines as several nations begin ministering people with doses hoping to control pandemic. While talking to business weekly WirtschaftsWoche and later posting on Twitter, Stock warned against hike in crimes including fts, warehouse break-ins and even attack vaccine shipments. 

Calling vaccines “liquid gold”, Interpol chief alerted about crime network benefitting from entire pandemic. Stock’s remarks came as at least 16 countries have alrey approved vaccine produced by German company BioNTech in collaboration with US giant Pfizer. As per reports, secretary-general of France-based global policing ncy also said that he is expecting more graft cases related to COVID-19 vaccines. He ted that “corruption will be rampant” in areas where doses are available sooner than rest of world.

“With vaccines rolling out, crime will increase dramatically,” Stock said. “We will see fts and warehouse break-ins and attacks on vaccine shipments.”

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Europol Warns Against 'counterfeit COVID-19 Vaccines'

Just earlier this month, European Union police ncy Europol in an ‘early warning tification’, said that member states and third-party countries must stay vigilant against organized crime scams linked to COVID-19 vaccines. warning was issued after European Medicines ncy (EMA) anunced that it was set to conclude evaluation of first conditional marketing authorization application for vaccines. “Increased vigilance for criminal fraudulent activity is vised to all Member States,” Europol said in a statement, stressing that criminals replacing genuine shots shipments with counterfeit vaccines. 

“Expected arrival of a genuine COVID-19 vaccine has alrey inspired criminal activities and will likely be exacerbated once vaccines become available”—Europol said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a senior official at World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it is ‘t a game’ and called for nations to avoid ‘some kind of nationalistic footrace’. While answering a question during a press conference, WHO DIrector of Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan on December 18 urged countries to t turn COVID-19 immunisation into a race with some nations winning and ors losing. Warning against comparing national approaches in a competitive fashion, Ryan called for patience, tolerance as well as solidarity.

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