A security guard who worked at vaccination sites stole empty Covid jab vials before flogging them on eBay.
Steven Flint, 34, was working as a contract security guard at three sites during the peak of the vaccination rollout at the start of last year. But his scam was uncovered when post office CCTV footage and his eBay account details were spotted by authorities.
His own diligent admin also landed him in hot water, when cops raided his home in Tadworth, Surrey, and found a pile of package receipts filed away that linked him to the sales. Officers also found empty vaccine vials as well as the multiple receipts for packages posted to his eBay buyers.
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Flint worked 13 shifts at the three vaccine centres in Surrey before he was arrested on suspicion of theft and fraud at one of the sites he worked at in February 2021. Detectives also discovered Flint fraudulently used the details of a friend to set up a new eBay account to cover his tracks.
He was sentenced at Staines Magistrates Court on Wednesday (August 17) to one year in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work. He was found guilty of theft last month and pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at an earlier hearing.
Detective Inspector Paul Gordon, of Surrey Police’s proactive investigation team, said: "Covid vaccine vials remain the property of the NHS. Due to their sensitive medical nature, this ownership is maintained before, during and after the vials are used. Taking these items could only have been theft.
"Flint’s crimes took place when the very successful national vaccine programme was in its infancy and any actions which jeopardised public confidence in the vaccine roll-out were treated with the utmost seriousness.
"We, along with our health service partners and the vaccine manufacturers, reacted extremely quickly to the situation, working together to identify and arrest Flint."
Lorna Hart, Surrey Heartlands Covid vaccination programme director, said the NHS will never charge for a coronavirus jab and vaccines should only be used if they come from an official source.
She said: "The NHS will never charge for a Covid-19 vaccination and patients should only ever accept a vaccine from an NHS vaccination service.
"Thanks to the success of our NHS vaccination programme, frontline teams have done an incredible job, delivering over 2.2 million Covid-19 vaccines to people across Surrey Heartlands.
"As part of the autumn booster programme many people, including everyone aged 50 and over, will be offered a Covid-19 booster, as well as a flu jab, to help increase people’s protection against respiratory viruses ahead of winter so we would encourage anyone who is invited to get vaccinated. We also continue to offer the Covid-19 vaccine to anyone who is eligible."
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