The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested on Wednesday a Chinese businessman who was selling what he claimed was a cure against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Over 40 boxes of capsules were seized from Shi Jianchuan in an entrapment operation in Binondo, Manila, conducted by NBI Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division (AOTCD).
Joel Tovera, AOTCD chief, said the capsules, a box of which was being sold for P40,000 wholesale, were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the respiratory illness.
FDA personnel who were present during the sting will analyze the capsules reportedly imported from China.
The suspect was charged with violations of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and the FDA Act before the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office.
Experts have yet to come up with a definitive cure for COVID-19. —Nikka G. Valenzuela