Defense Ministry, Police thwart delivery of 1.5 million flawed N95 masks
The masks were found to be flawed once they arrived in Israel and were not sent to medical teams
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFFlawed N95 masks imported to Israel, June, 2020(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE AND DEFENSE MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON)
The Defense Ministry and Israel Police thwarted an attempt to deliver flawed N95 masks to medical workers in Israel, after an Israeli importer tried delivering the flawed masks to the National Procurement Command Center.The National Procurement Command Center, run by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Health Ministry and the Defense Ministry, ordered the masks from a foreign country with a down payment of NIS 5 million through the Israeli importer in April.When the masks arrived in Israel, the National Procurement Command Center began to suspect that the masks did not meet Health Ministry standards and could not be used. The importer is suspected of trying to misrepresent the masks' quality.As part of the investigation, thousands of flawed masks were seized. The masks were found to be flawed once they arrived in Israel and were not sent to medical teams.Two suspects have been arrested as part of the investigation into the flawed masks.
