The pilot and the six Honduran passengers of a private jet in which thousands of containers of alleged false vaccines against the coronavirus had been seized, managed to escape from a hotel in southern Mexico after identification by the authorities.
The Attorney General’s office announced on Wednesday that the pilot and the six passengers who would board the private jet at Campeche’s Mexican airport bound for the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula had managed to escape surveillance after being were located in a hotel.
Authorities did not report the identities of the individuals requested, merely indicating that a migration alert has been requested from the National Institute of Migration for the seven occupants.
Amid the controversy that has arisen after the seizure of the thousands of alleged false doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V against the coronavirus, the Attorney General’s office said in a statement that it has not yet received expert advice from the Federal Commission for Received protection. against Risks Health (COFEPRIS) on the contents of the 1,062 containers seized on March 17, a condition essential to prosecute the case.
The prosecution ruled out in the letter that it had received any pressure from the federal or local government for the process.
On March 17, General Customs and the Mexican Army found bottles of the alleged Russian vaccine in the bottom of a cooler box inside a private plane preparing to travel to San Pedro Sula.
Mexican authorities considered the vaccines to be genuine, protected them and started an investigation into the seizure. However, Russia’s Direct Investment Fund, the government agency responsible for handling Sputnik V abroad, reported shortly afterward that it was “a batch of fake vaccines” against the coronavirus.
The press releases indicate that the plane in the case was leased by the Honduran company Grupo Karim’s. Without giving further details about the acquisition of the alleged Russian vaccines, the Karim’s Group first acknowledged the day before that it was behind the shipment and denied that it was trying to illegally introduce the drugs into Honduras.
In defending vaccine imports, the Karim’s Group, which is dedicated to the manufacture of clothing, ruled out in a statement that the doses were intended for sale in the Central American nation, as noted by some press releases, and indicated that the vaccines would be administered free of charge to their employees and relatives.
The organization has not provided details on how many vaccines it purchased, how it obtained them, or the veracity of the drug.
Mexico started using Sputnik V in February and has received 400,000 doses of the vaccine and expects another 500,000 doses in the coming days.
Honduras approved emergency use of the Russian vaccine in February and announced the purchase of more than 4 million doses this month, but none have yet reached the Central American country.