According to a story in the Brighton & Hove News a man, Frank Ludlow, has appeared in court in Brighton charged with making and selling fake Covid-19 treatment kits containing dangerous materials, apparently, across the world.

The City of London Police said: “A man charged with making counterfeit treatment kits for coronavirus, and sending them across the world, has appeared in court. He was charged with fraud, possession of articles for use in fraud and of unlawfully manufacturing a medicinal product which had not received official approval.”

According to the article “Ludlow’s arrest follows a joint investigation by PIPCU, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The case originated when the US Customs and Border Protection Agency in Los Angeles intercepted a package on the (Wednesday) 18 March, containing 60 separate covid-19 treatment kits labelled as ‘anti-pathogenic treatment’, which were sent from the UK. The US FDA determined the product to be an unapproved drug based on the labelling and directions for use and alerted the MHRA in the UK.  The kits are thought to contain potassium thiocyanate and hydrogen peroxide, both of which are extremely harmful chemicals when the user is instructed to wash and rinse their mouth with them.”

Dids Macdonald, OBE, CEO of ACID said “This a stark warning to be careful and vigilant about anyone who purports to sell you anti COVID-19 products. The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), with whom ACID works closely have been ever diligent in their pursuit of counterfeiters and criminals. It is urgent that we are aware of those who seek to capitalise on a global catastrophe by peddling fake and counterfeit treatments. How low can you get? Sadly, amongst all the good deeds there is a dark world that is inhabited by profiteers who capitalise out of tragedy.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Clinton Blackburn, from the City of London of Police, said: “Fraudsters are constantly looking for ways in which they can exploit people, including using global emergencies and times of uncertainty for many, to defraud people out of their money. While police have taken swift action to arrest this individual, we believe some of these kits may still be in circulation.”

If you have purchased one of these kits, it’s important you do not use it. Instead, report it to Action Fraud via their website www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040 and quoting  ‘Trinity CV19 treatment kits’.