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

The 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 administering people with the doses hoping to control the pandemic. While talking to business weekly WirtschaftsWoche and later posting on Twitter, Stock warned against the hike in crimes including thefts, warehouse break-ins and even attack vaccine shipments. 

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

“With vaccines rolling out, crime will increase dramatically,” Stock said. “We will see thefts 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 agency Europol in an ‘early warning notification’, said that the member states and third-party countries must stay vigilant against the organized crime scams linked to COVID-19 vaccines. The warning was issued after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it was set to conclude the evaluation of the first conditional marketing authorization application for the vaccines. “Increased vigilance for criminal fraudulent activity is advised 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 already inspired criminal activities and will likely be exacerbated once vaccines become available”—Europol said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a senior official at the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it is ‘not a game’ and called for the 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 the countries to not turn COVID-19 immunisation into a race with some nations winning and others losing. Warning against comparing national approaches in a competitive fashion, Ryan called for patience, tolerance as well as solidarity.

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