Canadians stop, seize more than 380 shipments of unauthorized COVID supplies and tests
Canadian officials stopped more than 380 shipments of unauthorized or counterfeit COVID-19-related goods at British Columbia border crossings during the first three months of the pandemic.
Included among the items seized between March 20 and June 30, according to a Canadian press release Thursday, Nov. 5, were:
▪ 48,000 COVID-19 test kits.
▪ 4.5 million personal protective equipment (PPE) items.
▪ 33,000 prescription tablets and pills.
▪ More than 1,500 other fraudulent or potentially dangerous products.
“While some importers genuinely did not recognize that certain health products require specific permits and licenses, others tried to take advantage of the circumstances during the height of the pandemic and attempted to import potentially dangerous products into Canada for financial gains,” Canada Border Services Agency Director, Enforcement and Intelligence Division for the Pacific Region Yvette-Monique Gray said in the release.
“To prevent these goods from entering our communities, the CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) partnered with Health Canada and the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) on Project Purify and this has proven to be extremely beneficial for British Columbians and all Canadians. The CBSA remains diligent and continues to screen all goods entering Canada.”
The Bellingham Herald has reached out to the border service asking how many of the seizures were made at border crossing from Whatcom County.
The border service seized mislabeled and improperly declared goods and referred others to Health Canada for later seizures, according to the release.
“Products entering Canada that do not meet required standards can lead to serious injury or harm, mental and physical,” Superintendent Brent Taylor, officer in charge of the RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime’s East Division Financial Integrity Program, said in the release. “Project Purify was an opportunity to work together to keep these potentially unsafe products out of our communities. By partnering with the CBSA and Health Canada, the RCMP continues to help keep British Columbians safe through this global pandemic.”
