Coronavirus: police seize 140,000 contraband masks in Saint-Denis

Text by: RFI Follow

Masks are a rare commodity in this pandemic period and have become, at the same time, a contraband product. In France, a record seizure of 140,000 masks intended for illegal resale was made this Saturday in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. 

Publicity

It was during an ordinary inspection in a residential area of ​​Saint-Denis, that the police came across two men, clearly in the middle of a transaction at the doors of a vehicle. Inside, boxes containing a total of 140,000 masks, two-thirds of the FFP2 type, and the rest of the surgical type. 

One of the two suspects, who presented himself as an entrepreneur in the building sector, is said to have supplied himself to the Netherlands, for an amount of 80,000 euros. He would have intended to resell the merchandise at retail, to construction workers for example.

The Bobigny prosecution has opened an investigation, in particular for possession of counterfeit goods and deceptive marketing practices. Since the requisition of stocks of these professional masks by the State, their resale is prohibited, so that they primarily benefit health personnel.

Last month, 32,500 masks from China had already been seized from a warehouse in Saint-Ouen and 29,000 from Aubervilliers, still in the Seine Saint Denis department. 

Newsletter With the Daily Newsletter, find the headlines directly in your mailbox

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

• France
• Coronavirus
• Health and Medicine
• Justice

On the same subject

Coronavirus: French pharmacies authorized to sell “general public” masks

Coronavirus: China's "mask diplomacy" again in question