An elderly man was arrested in north-eastern Greece for attempting to illegally bring vaccines against the sheep smallpox into the country.

The 60-year-old man from Komotini was arrested on Wednesday night at the Kipoi Customs House as he attempted to enter the country illegally transporting sheep pox vaccines preparations.

During a customs inspection of his vehicle, police officers from the Kipoi Customs Directorate, in collaboration with officers from the Alexandroupoli Police Directorate, located a styrofoam box containing vaccine preparations against sheep and goat pox:

Twelve vials of 50ml of liquid substance, which constitute the solvent of the vaccine and twelve vials of 100ml of powder, which constitute the vaccine.

The quantities correspond to 1,500 vaccine doses.

The 60-year-old man told police that he received the box of sheep pox vaccines from the bus station in Kessani, Turkey and it was sent by an unknown sender from Istanbul.

The perpetrator was arrested and a case was filed against him.

It is not known whether he wanted the vaccines for his own flock or he was intending to sell them to desperate livestock farmers who have been seen their sheep and goats decimate or being culled by authorities due to the highly contagious disease.

Vaccination of sheep and goats against smallpox is prohibited in Greece for reasons that remain quite unclear.

A few days ago, the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Costas Tsiaras, had sent the Prosecutor’s Office complaints about the illegal import and trafficking of vaccines, which were reaching livestock farmers who vaccinating their animals for protection.

The Minister had claimed that Feta cheese produced by vaccinated animals vaccinated against smallpox cannot be exported, while critics claim righteously that the EU  animal authorities will have to know the exact number of animals to send vaccines and this will create one more shock to investigators of the big OPEKEPE EU Agricultural Funds scandal.