The coronavirus pandemic has affected millions of people around the world and still continues to affect many more. Economies are down, which caused many businesses to shut down, and people are losing their jobs.
However, for some people, the pandemic is an opportunity to earn more money by scamming people into buying a 'cure' that does not truly treat anyone with the virus and is a waste of thousands of dollars.
Investigative reporter Anas Aremeyaw Anas goes undercover in Ghana to expose a COVID-19 scam that could cause more harm than curing the infection.
Quack Doctors Sell Fake 'Coronavirus Cure'
In a report by BBC News, Anas investigated two quack doctors who claim that they have a cure for coronavirus. Surprisingly, they even advertise it on the radio. However, to avoid getting arrested, they said that they are not selling it to people since they are still waiting for the regulators' approval.
To investigate further, Anas went to this quack doctor named Dr. Abdellah, who broadcast his phone number on the radio. Anas brought a secret camera with him and pretended that his brother was sick with coronavirus to test if the quack doctor will secretly and illegally sell it to him.
Abdellah and his brother did their best to sell this 'coronavirus cure' to Anas by saying that the drug does not need any trials because he knows its potency. They even said that they have already given it to many people and never received any negative feedback.
Furthermore, they claimed that parents had taken their children out of the hospitals after recovering from the virus thanks to their coronavirus cure.
After the sales talk, Abdellah sold three bottles of the said cure for about 1,000 cedis or approximately $172 to Anas despite his earlier claim that he does not sell the 'cure' to anyone.
But before leaving, the older Dr. Abdellah warned Anas that one of the bottles would cause serious diarrhea. "It will push out every liquid that is not supposed to be in his system. Every liquid from the body," he said.
A few weeks later, Anas went back to see the brothers after they called him many times to urge him to buy more. Inside their house, Anas found more than 100 bottles of their concoction. The older brother said that he possesses mysterious spiritual power and that he is invincible in an effort to try and convince Anas to buy more of their product.
The brothers demanded 150,000 cedis or $25,974 for more than 100 bottles of their 'coronavirus cure.' They thought they hit the jackpot, but Anas only took the bottles he bought to the Ghana Standards Authority for a toxicology test.
Not Safe for Human Consumption
The test results showed that all the Abdellah brothers' products failed to meet the standards for human consumption because they contained unacceptable levels of bacteria and mold, which can cause serious illness.
Anas and his team then took their findings to the director of FDA Delese Mimi Darko. Upon seeing the bottles, she immediately said that the product is clearly not an FDA approved drug. They will never allow to put on the label that it is a cure. She promised that the FDA would take swift action against anyone selling unregistered medicines.
After their investigation, the FDA of Ghana moved to shut down the facilities of the Abdellahs. They found more than 300 bottles, and Dr. Abdellah even tried persuading the agents that they had not been selling the products. He claims that they are already on the process of licensing the products.
They are now detained by the FDA and will be questioned by the authorities.
