Police have seized three tonnes of fake sanitisers and other materials from various pharmacies in Phnom Penh, while owners of three major fake alcohol distribution centres were summoned by officials for clarification.

In a Facebook post, the Ministry of Commerce’s General Department of Consumer Protection, Competition and Fraud Prevention said the fake sanitisers and other materials were seized when officials launched a campaign to check its quality and face mask prices.

The department also looked for temperature scanners for Covid-19 on Monday at some pharmacies in the capital.

The post further said the officials seized the items for further inspection, while some vendors were instructed not to exploit fears of Covid-19 to raise prices.

The officials from the general department, in collaboration with judicial officials and police forces, launched the campaign to suppress fake alcohol on March 26. As of April 3, 64,178 litres of fake alcohol had been seized.

The ministry said on its Facebook post that most of the alcohol was found in Phnom Penh, while some were found in Kandal, Siem Reap, Preah Vihear, Pursat and Svay Rieng provinces.

It warned that fake alcohol containing high degrees of methanol would be on sale across the country amid the outbreak of Covid-19. The substance might seep into the skin and endanger the health of users, possibly affecting their eyesight.

The ministry also reiterated that the public should only buy sanitisers with trademarks and addresses of distributors or sellers. The ministry said sanitisers that kill germs were made of ethyl alcohol.

Heng Mealy, who heads the department’s Phnom Penh branch, told The Post on Tuesday that no Cambodian or foreign homeowners had been arrested. Heng said that‘s because they always escaped before the operations took place.

“When we cracked down on their locations, they ran away and didn’t come to us to solve the problem.

“So, the department posted notices on the walls of warehouses and houses that distributed the fake alcohol in the hope that they would come to solve it,” Mealy said.

He said the department had until now issued letters summoning three house and distribution centre owners for clarification.

The first is a warehouse owner in Chbar Ampov district’s Niroth commune. The second is a homeowner in Borey Piphup Thmey gated community in Kambol district’s Kantaok commune and the third is a homeowner in Kandal province’s Bek Chan commune in Ang Snuol district.

He said he would seek permission from the courts to set the seized products on fire.