Fake Covid-19 antigen test kits and other medical gear, worth about 2 million baht, were seized during police-led raids in Nakhon Pathom and Nonthaburi provinces on Thursday.
Teams of Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) officers and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials first searched a commercial building in tambon Naraphirom of Bang Len district in Nakhon Pathom.
They seized tens of thousands of antigen test kits (ATKs) that were falsely labelled with brand names such as Testsealabs Gica, Testsealabs Nex and Zybio, along with face masks and other products.
A woman identified only as Anusara admitted to being the owner of the products and the building, Central Investigation Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jirabhob Bhuridej said.
The second raid was at a house in tambon Bang Khen of Muang district in Nonthaburi. There they seized ATKs falsely labelled as Testsealab Gia, Testsealabs Nex, Greenspring, Singclean, Seinofy, Hip, Deepblue, Humansis, Bioteke and Ustar, along with medical gloves, oximeters and Chinese herbal products.
A woman identified only as Patyaphorn admitted to being the owner of the house and the goods.
Items seized from the two places were worth about 2 million baht in total, the CIB chief said.
The raids followed complaints that unscrupulous people were selling unapproved products falsely labelled with the names of brands that have FDA approval.
Pol Col Neti Wongkulab, chief of CPPD sub-division 4, said a police investigation found falsely labelled ATKs being sold at cheap prices via Facebook accounts operated by the two women since April. They sold ATKs for 40-45 baht each, cheaper than those brands normally sold for, Pol Col Neti said.
Police posed as customers, buying the ATKs from a shop near the site of the first raid in Nakhon Pathom. They then searched the nearby commercial building and found the same products packed and ready for distribution. That led to the raid on the house in Nonthaburi.
Pol Col Neti said the next step would be to arrest the Chinese national said to have supplied those fake goods. Investigators believed at least four people were involved.
FDA secretary-general Paisarn Dunkum said oximeters and ATKs were medical equipment. Falsification of medical equipment affected quality and safety, and posed a danger to medical personnel and patients.
Falsifying medical equipment carries a maxium penalty of 10 years in prison and/or fine of one million baht, Dr Paisarn said.
