Police in Italy are conducting a crackdown on crooked traders looking to exploit fears over the coronavirus outbreak as the number deaths related to the disease in the country continues to rise.
The Guardia di Finanza law enforcement agency has arrested dozens of fraudsters for preying on worried members of the public by ramping up the price of basic personal hygiene products and falsely making claims that the items they sell can either protect against the disease or cure people who have already contracted it.
Italian investigators said traders and businesses with no experience in healthcare are currently being probed for fraudulently selling such products, including hardware stores, detergent dealers, auto parts sellers, direct growers and cattle breeders.
Products including ambient ionisers, masks, overalls, protective gloves, sanitising products, glasses, sanitary covers and food supplements are being misleadingly advertised to Italian consumers as items that can either protect against or cure the coronavirus, Guardia di Finanza said.
The force said the worst offenders could be jailed for two years if convicted of fraud.
Italy yesterday said it would shut every school and university in the country to stop the spread of coronavirus, and announced that it may ask for a temporary suspension of EU budget rules as it struggles to contain the disease.
Separately, Le360 reported earlier this week that police in Morocco had arrested a British lorry driver who was attempting to smuggle 100,000 medical face masks worth an estimated $3.3 million out of the country in a bid to exploit coronavirus fears in the UK.
The trucker, who was arrested in the Port of Tanger Med east of the city of Tangier, is said to have been planning to exploit a shortage of face masks in Britain by selling those he was transporting for $33 each.
Amazon said this week that it had removed one million items from its website for price gouging over coronavirus fears.
The online retail giant said items such as hand sanitiser and face masks were being traded on its platform at mark-ups of up to 2,000%.
In a statement, the company said: “There is no place for price-gouging on Amazon.
“We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to artificially raise prices on basic need products during a global health crisis and, in line with our longstanding policy, have recently blocked or removed tens of thousands of offers.
“We continue to actively monitor our store and remove offers that violate our policies.”
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