A security guard working at vaccination sites stole empty Covid vials and stole them on eBay.
Steven Flint stole a large number of empty vaccine vials from 3 vaccination centers and resold them for profit.
The 34-year-old introduced himself as a hired security guard at 3 sites at the height of vaccine rollout early last year.
But his scam was discovered when authorities spotted CCTV footage from the post office and main points of his eBay account.
His own diligent manager also got him in trouble when he raided his home in Tadworth, Surrey, and discovered a stack of classified package receipts that connected him to sales.
Agents also discovered empty vaccine bottles, as well as receipts for packages sent to eBay shoppers in Flint.
Flint worked thirteen shifts at 3 vaccination centres in Surrey before being arrested on suspicion of theft and fraud at one of the sites he worked at in February 2021.
Detectives also discovered that Flint fraudulently used a friend’s touch data to create a new eBay account to cover his tracks.
On Wednesday, in Staines Magistrates Court, Flint was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for 18 months and sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was convicted of robbery last month and pleaded guilty to fraud through misrepresentation at an earlier hearing.
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Detective Inspector Paul Gordon from Surrey Police’s proactive investigation team said today: “Covid vaccine vials are the assets of the NHS.
“Due to their delicate medical nature, these actives are maintained before and after the use of the vials. Taking those items may just be theft.
“Flint crimes took a stand while the successful national vaccination program in its infancy and any movement that compromised public confidence in the vaccine launch were treated with the utmost seriousness.
“We, along with our healthcare partners and vaccine manufacturers, have responded incredibly temporarily to the situation, working together to identify and prevent Flint. “
Lorna Hart, director of Surrey Heartlands Covid’s vaccination programme, said the NHS will never test a coronavirus vaccine and that vaccines will only be used if they come from an official source.
She said: “The NHS will never qualify for a Covid-19 vaccine and patients never settle for a vaccine from an NHS vaccination service.
“Thanks to the good fortune of our NHS vaccination programme, frontline groups have done a job, delivering more than 2. 2 million COVID-19 vaccines to others in Surrey Heartlands.
“As part of the fall booster program, many other people, in addition to everyone else over the age of 50, will receive a Covid-19 booster, as well as a flu shot, to increase other people’s coverage of respiratory viruses before winter. so we inspire all guests to get vaccinated.
“We also continue to offer the Covid-19 vaccine to whoever is eligible. “
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