Police believe Idar Vollvik has marked and repackaged face masks in Norway – VG

This is part of the reason why the police decided to attack the Vollvik facility on Tuesday.

– I can confirm that this is the suspicion we are working on. He has received non-medical bandages and has repackaged them in Norway. The sanitary pads come from abroad, prosecutor Sigrid Sulland in the West Police District tells VG.

The police believe that the bandages were sold to Vollvik’s company, Vovi AS, as non-medical bandages.

They were later repackaged and sold as Type IIR and Type I.

Type I is more suitable for infected patients and people, while Type IIR is more suitable for healthcare professionals. They are often referred to as surgical masks and are used in nursing homes and hospitals during the corona pandemic.

– We believe this information is serious. There is a wide range of face masks involved. These have been for sale at Ludostore on a large scale, Sulland says.

Ludostore is marketed as the cheapest in face masks.

– There is a great need for face masks in the health system and the general population. If you are going to sell a mask, it must be correctly marked, says the prosecutor.

Sulland says police do not yet know if any of the bandages were sold to municipal health institutions or health trusts.

– Has a central role

– Do the police believe that it is Vollvik who has changed the brand, or are there other actors who have?

– I do not want to delve into this for the sake of research. But it is Vollvik himself who has been arrested and charged in the case. We believe it has a central role, says Sulland.

Former billionaire, series founder and online retailer Idar Vollvik was arrested at his home Tuesday morning. He is charged in the case and subjected to police questioning on Tuesday. At the same time, the police broke into his Minde premises in Bergen.

So far, the police have taken action against three addresses in Bergen.

Vollvik does not admit criminal guilt, defender Einar Råde informs E24.

– Vollvik has been on a lengthy interrogation today that began at eight o’clock early today. He does not feel any criminal responsibility for what happened, says lawyer Einar Råen, who represents Vollvik before E24.

He further claims that the bandages seized by the police may have been purchased in Norway.

He explains that Vollvik recently bought a batch from another Norwegian importer, and that these are the ones he has had problems with. The lawyer says this is not something that Vollvik has known about, but that it may be a misunderstanding.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency: May be a risk to the user.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency is now in Bergen and is helping the police examine the bandages.

– If the label does not match the product, there may be a risk for the user, says the leader of the team of medical equipment of the Norwegian Agency for Medicines, Petter Alexander Strømme, to VG.

– And what should people who have bought these bandages do? Use or discard? We are investigating now and it is not clear what quality it is. When we learn more, we will consider the need to come out with more information.

So far, the police are not cooperating with other police districts in the case. Sulland says it’s still early in the research, but he can’t rule out more seizures.

Police decided to take action against various addresses related to Vollvik on Tuesday based on several recent specific tips.

Vollvik thought he was the best in Norway with a mask

Vollvik has been actively marketing the sale of face masks on its own Facebook page.

Among other things, he had a competition this summer. In the comment field, Idar Vollvik’s Facebook page writes that they can “guarantee 200 percent that these are approved even by the Norwegian Medicines Agency.”

The comment also states that the bandages have been sold to pharmacies and “a large public”, among others.

In a full article, VG has written that Vollvik’s Vovi AS company has had shipments of infection control equipment stopped at customs four times. Therefore, the company hired its own people who investigated whether the documentation was good enough.

“I doubt that there is anyone in Norway, not even in the Norwegian Medicines Agency, now I can provoke, who has more competition than us,” Vollvik told VG at the end of May.

After Vollvik’s infection control team was detained at customs, they hired Jon Simonnæs to review and ensure the quality of the manufacturers’ documentation.

– Asked for help finding serious providers who have things in order. I found three channels: two manufacturers in China and an American company, says Jon Simonnæs today.

– Could it be these bandages that have been seized in today’s raid?

– I can’t imagine that.

– Does Vollvik also receive deliveries from other sources?

– You have to ask him that. My role was marginal until July. Since then, contact with Vollvik has been sporadic.

E24 has been in contact with the largest Norwegian pharmacy chains, who deny that they bought face masks from the company.

The Red Cross First Aid confirms that they have bought around 130,000 masks, divided into 2,500-3,000 packages when demand increased in July and August.

– Vollvik was one of those with good access to face masks at the moment. We received good documentation on these products, which was in line with the requirements of the authorities. We also received photographs of the boxes in which the tissues were delivered, which was also correct, says CEO Fredrik Aasebø of the Red Cross First Aid to E24.

He says they no longer sell face masks from Vollvik’s company.

– What we have done after learning about this case is to check the documentation we have received. We have good control over both it and who has been given the mask. If any of our customers are unsure of quality, they should contact us so we can guide them, says Aasebø.