Six arrested for scamming people with cat coronavirus treatment

The Dutch and Belgian police busted an illegal trade in a banned drug against cat coronavirus. The traders sold the medicine to sometimes desperate cat owners and earned an average of 3,000 euros per treatment, the Belgian Public Prosecution Service said.

The two main suspects, a 32-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman, sold the illegal drug GS-441524. The drug resembles the virus inhibitor Remdesivir, which gained notoriety when then-U.S. President Donald Trump touted it as a panacea against Covid-19. The drugs they sold usually came from China or Hong Kong.

There is currently no recognized treatment for cat coronavirus or FIP. Many animals don’t survive the virus.

The suspects managed the Facebook group “FIP-lotgenoten,” where cat owners with an infected pet exchanged experiences and tips. The suspects offered the medicine for sale on the Facebook group. The female suspect earned 120,000 euros in a year, the Belgian OM said.

The police carried out house searches in six places in the Netherlands and Belgium. They arrested six people, including the two main suspects.