Mexican authorities have seized a shipment of purported Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines from a private airplane bound for Honduras, which Russia says were fake doses, themoscowtimes.com reports.
The batch of 1,155 vials containing the equivalent of 5,775 doses was hidden inside two coolers aboard the plane at an airport in the southern state of Campeche, the customs agency said late Wednesday.
The Honduran crew and passengers were referred to the attorney general's office, the statement said.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which financed the Sputnik V vaccine's development, thanked Mexico for seizing what it described as an illegal shipment of fake Sputnik V vaccines.
"Analysis of the photographs of the seized batch, including the design of containers and labels, suggests that it is a fake substance which has nothing to do with the original vaccine," it said in a statement.
