One of the biggest COVID vaccination scams has just been unravelled in the Indian state of Maharashtra where thousands of people were jabbed with fake COVID doses. Authorities have revealed that at least 12 fake vaccine drives, organised by doctors and medical workers, were held in and around the city of Mumbai.
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COVID scam
Mumbai police found that the doctors were using salt water solutions to jab residents instead of using authorised vaccines. The organisers reportedly earned over £20,000 from thousands that received and paid for the vaccine under the impression that it was the real thing. Vishal Thakur, senior official of the Mumbai police department told CNN:
They were using saline water and injecting it.
Every fake vaccination camp that they held, they were doing this.
So far the police have arrested 14 people, including doctors who were producing fake certificates, vials, and syringes. They’ve been arrested on suspicion of several charges including cheating, and criminal conspiracy.
As the investigation has been unfolding, authorities have been identifying more and more people who have fallen prey to the giant scam. The number has risen to 3,000 and is likely to increase in the coming weeks. Thakur says that he also expects to make more arrests, but for now the main accused has been taken into custody.
Suspicious activity
All the fake drives happened between late May and early June and the jig was up when the scammers organised a huge drive at a housing society. When none of the residents got any side effects from the ‘vaccine’ and were asked to pay only in cash, they began getting suspicious. One resident told the CNN-News18:
None of our members got any symptoms and also we had to pay in cash.
At that point of time, we doubted it.
