Ministry of Public Security warns about speculation and smuggling of poor quality medical masks
(Baonghean.vn) - Grasping people's concerns about the risk of the Corona virus epidemic, some subjects have increased speculation, raised prices, produced and traded fake and poor quality goods, especially medical masks and disinfectant solutions.
According to the warning of the Ministry of Public Security: Many subjects have increased the production of poor quality masks or speculated on goods of unknown origin, raising the price of medical masks for people by 4 to 5 times; the price of Tamiflu medicine has increased from 1.5 to 2 times.
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| Some people also collect masks, hand sanitizers... to transport and smuggle across the border to make a profit. Illustrative photo |
In particular, taking advantage of the high prices of masks and medical equipment for disease prevention and control in China, some people have collected medical masks, hand sanitizers, etc. to transport and smuggle across the border to make a profit. This behavior of these people has directly affected the goal of stabilizing market prices and people's lives, causing public outrage.
Given the above situation,The Ministry of Public Security has strictly implemented the Prime Minister's instructions in drastically implementing measures to prevent and control the epidemic. Thereby, it has detected and resolutely handled many related violations of the law and advised people to be more vigilant.
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| A number of masks and hand sanitizers without documents proving their origin have just been discovered and seized. Photo source: Ministry of Public Security website |
The Ministry of Public Security will continue to closely coordinate with functional units to resolutely handle establishments and individuals who show signs of trading, producing, and trading counterfeit goods, poor quality goods, goods of unknown origin, speculating, hoarding, and raising prices of medical products.
If people discover similar violations of the law mentioned above, they should immediately report to the nearest police agency or contact the hotline of the police units and localities.
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| Ho Thi Thuy was recently arrested by Hoa Binh Provincial Police in coordination with Nghe An Provincial Police for creating a fake Facebook page to fraudulently sell masks. |
The Ministry of Public Security also recommends that people should stay calm and be vigilant against false and unverified information on social networking sites by some individuals with the aim of creating a state of artificial scarcity, serving speculation, hoarding, and profiteering. At the same time, they should choose to buy and sell medical products at licensed and reputable establishments and stores to avoid buying fake, poor quality, and unknown origin goods...
On February 4, 2020, Hoa Binh Provincial Police coordinated with Nghe An Provincial Police to arrest Ho Thi Thuy (born in 1996, residing in Ngoc Son Commune, Quynh Luu) for fraud and appropriation of property. Through initial investigation, Ho Thi Thuy confessed that taking advantage of the demand and scarcity of medical masks during the outbreak of acute pneumonia caused by the Corona virus, Thuy used a fake Facebook account to post content selling a large number of medical masks at cheap prices.
Trusting Thuy, many people texted her to order large quantities of masks, but when the victims transferred money, Thuy blocked them on Facebook, cut off contact with them, and appropriated tens of millions of dong. Through initial investigation, Thuy confessed to having appropriated money from more than 10 people.