AFP UK

A swath of the US East Coast, including New York City, was under alert Saturday, as storm Henri was upgraded to what could be the first hurricane in 30 years to hit New England.

Forecasters warned of violent winds, the risk of flash floods and surging seas as the storm churned in the Atlantic, packing maximum sustained winds near 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour.

“It’s as serious as a heart attack,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, announcing a state of emergency and the deployment of 500 National Guard soldiers in anticipation of response efforts.

He said the hurricane was expected to make landfall on Long Island, home to the plush Hamptons villages where wealthy New Yorkers retreat in summer, around noon (1600 GMT) on Sunday.

“It will be about a 26-hour event,” Cuomo added, telling New Yorkers to expect “significant power outages” and “significant flooding” in some suburbs of the Big Apple.

The US National Hurricane Center, in its latest bulletin, warned of “a dangerous storm surge, hurricane conditions and flooding” in areas of southern New England and Long Island.

Henri is expected to produce three to six inches of rain (7.5 to 15 centimeters) across the region, with isolated maximum totals near 10 inches, the NHC warned.

The heavy rainfall “may result in considerable flash, urban, and small stream flooding,” it added.

Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent as temperatures rise.

Officials in New England — which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont — have warned people to get ready.

“All residents are advised to begin storm preparations today, and to pay close attention to local weather,” the office of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said Friday. 

His state, which will close parks and beaches from Saturday to Monday, was bracing for the high winds to knock out electricity for up to 300,000 locals, the governor’s office said.

If Henri stays on its current course and maintains strength, it would be the first hurricane to directly hit New England in 30 years.

“The last hurricane to make landfall onto New England was Hurricane Bob in 1991,” Dennis Feltgen, an NHC spokesman, told AFP. That storm killed at least 17 people. 

It has been almost a decade since such severe weather threatened the region.

“The last time we had hurricane watches issued for the area was for Hurricane Irene, back in late August of 2011,” tweeted the National Weather Service in New York City.

The last hurricane to make landfall in Long Island was Gloria in 1985.

New York beaches were ordered closed for swimming Sunday and Monday as officials warned of high winds and possible storm surges, as well as flash flooding on roads.

The warnings have reignited memories of Hurricane Sandy, a more powerful storm that knocked out power for much of Manhattan and flooded subways in 2012.

A swath of the US East Coast, including New York City, was under alert Saturday, as storm Henri was upgraded to what could be the first hurricane in 30 years to hit New England.

Forecasters warned of violent winds, the risk of flash floods and surging seas as the storm churned in the Atlantic, packing maximum sustained winds near 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour.

“Although some weakening is expected prior to landfall on Sunday, Henri is forecast to be at or near hurricane strength when it reaches the coasts of Long Island and southern New England,” the US National Hurricane Center said in its latest bulletin.

Henri is expected to produce three to six inches of rain (7.5 to 15 centimeters) across the region, with isolated maximum totals near 10 inches, the NHC warned.

The heavy rainfall “may result in considerable flash, urban, and small stream flooding,” it added.

Officials in New England — which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont — have warned people to get ready.

“All residents are advised to begin storm preparations today, and to pay close attention to local weather,” the office of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said Friday. 

His state, which will close parks and beaches from Saturday to Monday, was bracing for the high winds to knock out electricity for up to 300,000 locals, the governor’s office said.

If Henri stays on its current course and maintains strength, it would be the first hurricane to directly hit New England in 30 years.

“The last hurricane to make landfall onto New England was Hurricane Bob in 1991,” Dennis Feltgen, an NHC spokesman, told AFP. That storm killed at least 17 people. 

It has been almost a decade since such severe weather was expected in part of the region.

“The last time we had hurricane watches issued for the area was for Hurricane Irene, back in late August of 2011,” tweeted the National Weather Service in New York City.

New York beaches were ordered closed for swimming Sunday and Monday as officials warned of high winds and possible storm surges, as well as flash flooding on roads.

The last hurricane to make landfall in Long Island, home to the plush Hamptons villages where wealthy New Yorkers retreat to in summer, was Gloria in 1985.

The warnings have reignited memories of Hurricane Sandy, a more powerful storm that knocked out power for much of Manhattan and flooded subways in 2012.

Hurricane Grace lashed eastern Mexico with heavy rain and strong wind on Saturday, causing flooding, power blackouts and damage to homes as it gradually lost strength over the mountainous interior.

The storm made landfall in Mexico for a second time during the night near Tecolutla in Veracruz state as a major Category Three storm, triggering warnings of mudslides and significant floods.

The streets of Tecolutla, home to about 24,000 people, were littered with fallen trees, signs and roof panels as dawn broke, television images showed.

In the Veracruz state capital, Xalapa, streets were turned into muddy brown rivers. Many homes in the region were left without electricity.

Flooding was also reported in parts of neighboring Tamaulipas state while in Puebla in central Mexico trees were toppled and buildings suffered minor damage.

Grace weakened to a tropical storm as it churned inland clocking maximum sustained winds of 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

At 1500 GMT, the storm was located 25 miles northeast of Mexico City, which was drenched by heavy rain, and moving west at 13 mph, forecasters said.

– ‘Seek refuge’ –

Grace was “weakening rapidly over land but still causing very heavy rains and flooding over portions of east-central Mexico,” the NHC said.

The storm was forecast to weaken to a tropical depression and dissipate by early Sunday, it said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had urged residents living in places considered to be at risk to “seek refuge in high places with relatives and in shelters.”

Nearly 8,000 civil defense members, soldiers and electricity board workers were ready to tackle the aftermath of the storm, he said on Friday night.

Authorities in the state of Veracruz said they had prepared 200 storm shelters and urged residents to hunker down in safe places.

Veracruz Governor Cuitlahuac Garcia warned of the risk of flooding and mudslides as the storm dumped heavy rain on the mountainous region.

Authorities closed most highways in Veracruz, which is crossed by numerous rivers.

– Fishermen affected –

In preparation for the storm, workers along the coast boarded up windows to protect stores, fishermen brought their boats ashore and residents secured their homes after stocking up on canned food and water.

“We will spend many days without fishing — almost a week,” said Isabel Pastrana Vazquez, head of Veracruz’s federation of fisheries cooperatives.

“About 35,000 fishermen will be affected because we can’t go out. We’re going to have a swell and rain,” he said.

The hurricane had already lashed Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where more than 6,000 tourists and residents were evacuated to storm shelters earlier in the week across the southeastern state of Quintana Roo.

The storm first struck on Thursday near the town of Tulum, famed for its Mayan temples, drenching a string of Caribbean beach resorts.

The hurricane passed the Riviera Maya coastline without any loss of life, according to Quintana Roo Governor Carlos Joaquin. 

Fish dart across mosaic floors and into the ruined villas, where holidaying Romans once drank, plotted and flirted in the party town of Baiae, now an underwater archaeological park near Naples.

Statues which once decorated luxury abodes in this beachside resort are now playgrounds for crabs off the coast of Italy, where divers can explore ruins of palaces and domed bathhouses built for emperors.

Rome’s nobility were first attracted in the 2nd century BC to the hot springs at Baiae, which sits on the coast within the Campi Flegrei — a supervolcano known in English as the Phlegraean Fields.

Seven emperors, including Augustus and Nero, had villas here, as did Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. The poet Sextus Propertius described the town as a place of vice, which was “foe to virtuous creatures”.

It was where “old men behave like young boys, and lots of young boys act like young girls,” according to the Roman scholar Varro.

But by the 4th century, the porticos, marble columns, shrines and ornamental fish ponds had begun to sink due to bradyseism, the gradual rise and fall of land due to hydrothermal and seismic activity.

The whole area, including the neighbouring commercial capital of Pozzuoli and military seat at Miseno, were submerged. Their ruins now lie between four and six metres (15 to 20 feet) underwater.

– ‘Something unique’ –

“It’s difficult, especially for those coming for the first time, to imagine that you can find things you would never be able to see anywhere else in the world in just a few metres of water,” said Marcello Bertolaso, head of the Campi Flegrei diving centre, which takes tourists around the site.

“Divers love to see very special things, but what you can see in the park of Baiae is something unique.”

The 177-hectare (437-acre) underwater site has been a protected marine area since 2002, following decades in which antiques were found in fishermen’s nets and looters had free rein.

Divers must be accompanied by a registered guide.

A careful sweep of sand near a low wall uncovers a stunning mosaic floor from a villa which belonged to Gaius Calpurnius Pisoni, known to have spent his days here conspiring against Emperor Nero. 

Explorers follow the ancient stones of the coastal road past ruins of spas and shops, the sunlight on a clear day piercing the waves to light up statues. These are replicas; the originals are now in a museum.

“When we research new areas, we gently remove the sand where we know there could be a floor, we document it, and then we re-cover it,” archaeologist Enrico Gallocchio told AFPTV.

“If we don’t, the marine fauna or flora will attack the ruins. The sand protects them,” said Gallocchio, who is in charge of the Baiae park.

“The big ruins were easily discovered by moving a bit of sand, but there are areas where the banks of sand could be metres deep. There are undoubtedly still ancient relics to be found,” he said.

Sri Lanka will issue captive elephants with their own biometric identity cards and ban their riders from drinking on the job under a wide-ranging new animal protection law.

Many rich Sri Lankans — including Buddhist monks — keep elephants as pets to show off their wealth, but complaints of ill treatment and cruelty are widespread. 

The new measures are aimed at protecting the animals’ welfare and include strict regulations around working elephants, as well as mandating a daily two-and-a-half-hour bath for each creature.

Official records show there are about 200 domesticated elephants in the South Asian nation, with the population in the wild estimated at about 7,500.

The new law will require all owners to ensure that animals under their care have new photo identity cards with a DNA stamp.

It also brings in multiple regulations for working elephants. 

Baby elephants can no longer be used for work — even cultural pageants — and cannot be separated from their mothers.

Logging elephants cannot be worked for more than four hours a day and night work is prohibited.

There are new restrictions on the tourism industry too — from now on, no more than four people can ride an elephant at once, and they must sit on a well-padded saddle. 

Their use in films is banned, except for government productions under strict veterinary supervision, as is allowing their riders to drink while working.

“The person who owns or has the custody of such elephants shall ensure that the mahout (rider) is not consuming any liquor or any harmful drug while employed,” Wildlife Protection minister Wimalaweera Dissanayaka said in a gazette notification dated Thursday.

Owners must send their animals for a medical check-up every six months.

Those who violate the new law will have their elephant taken into state care and could face a three-year prison sentence.

Capturing wild elephants in Sri Lanka is a criminal offence punishable by death, but prosecutions are rare.

Animal rights activists as well as elephant experts have alleged that over the last 15 years, more than 40 baby elephants have been stolen from national wildlife parks.

From the sophisticated to downright strange, the pandemic has set off a wave of scams around the world from bogus doses and fake vaccine passes to criminal cremations.

Here are 10 of the most outrageous and nefarious frauds of the last few months:

– ‘Vaccination is optional’ –

Since the French government made proof of vaccination mandatory to enter cafes and other public places this month, a black market selling fake health passes for hundreds of euros has flourished.

Go to the social media app Snapchat, type in “fake health pass” and hey presto. Accounts that rarely last for more than a few days openly advertise counterfeit documents.

Among the ads are “Vaccination is optional thanks to our service” or, “Say no to the vaccine and get a health pass without getting vaccinated.”

Forgers making fake vaccinations certificates are also thriving in Russia.

– Bleed the rich –

At least 800 people were given fake vaccines in Uganda last month in a scam involving “unscrupulous” doctors and health workers who targeted people looking to pay for immunisation, including corporate employees asked to pay between $25-$120 (20-100 euros) for a fake shot.

– Just water –

A bigger scale scam in India’s commercial capital Mumbai in June conned 2,000 people who thought they were being vaccinated.

In fact they were injected with shots of a saline solution. 

– Criminal cremation –

Five gang members in the Indian city of Agra donned full protective gear to cremate a man they had murdered, pretending he had died from Covid-19, in a morbid case exposed in June.

“To avoid being caught… they wore PPE kit and used a body bag to pack and transport the body to the cremation ground,” police said.

– Uncivil servant –

A man posing as a civil servant with a master’s degree in genetics was nabbed in Kolkata in southern India in June for allegedly running as many as eight spurious vaccination camps.

At least 250 disabled and transgender people were injected at one site and nearly 500 people in total are believed to have been given counterfeit jabs. 

The scam came to light after an actress and politician Mimi Chakraborty, who received a shot at one of the camps to raise awareness, became suspicious and alerted police.

– Mean millionaires –

A rich Canadian couple got their comeuppance after travelling to a remote community to receive a vaccine intended for vulnerable and elderly Indigenous people. In June they were fined C$2,300 (US$1,800), but many felt they had got off too lightly and called for a harsher sentence.

– Anti-vaxxer’s revenge –

A vaccine sceptic pharmacist at a hospital in Wisconsin was jailed for three years in June after pleading guilty to tampering with hundreds of Moderna doses in a case that affected 57 people.

The pharmacist had removed vaccine vials from their refrigerator and left them outside for hours before returning them to be administered the next day.

– Robbing prisoners –

Four people were arrested in Indonesia for allegedly stealing vaccines earmarked for prisoners and selling them to the public.

The suspects took more than 1,000 doses of China’s Sinovac jab and offered them to buyers in the country’s capital Jakarta and in Medan, North Sumatra, for around 250,000 rupiah ($17) each.

– Dirty cotton swabs –

Spare a thought for passengers who passed through Medan airport where health workers had been recycling cotton swabs from Covid tests by washing and repackaging them. 

Police said the scheme could have affected thousands of passengers.

– Anti-wrinkle cream –

Fraudsters selling fake doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for as much as $2,500 a shot had earlier been nabbed in Poland and Mexico.

The bogus vials were stored in beer coolers in a Mexico clinic while in Poland the confiscated doses contained a cosmetic substance thought to be anti-wrinkle cream.

burs-eab/fg/lc

Hurricane Grace slammed into Mexico for a second time early Saturday as a major Category Three storm, threatening to bring significant flooding and mudslides, US forecasters said.

The storm made landfall near Tecolutla in Veracruz state, clocking maximum sustained winds of 125 miles (200 kilometers) per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Category Three is the third highest of five levels on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

A hurricane warning was in effect for coastline stretching from Puerto Veracruz to Cabo Rojo.

“Rapid weakening is expected as Grace moves inland over the mountains of central Mexico later today,” the NHC said.

Nearly 8,000 civil defense members, soldiers and electricity board workers were ready to tackle the aftermath of the storm, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wrote on Twitter.

He urged residents living in places considered to be at risk to “seek refuge in high places with relatives and in shelters.”

– Highways closed –

Authorities in the state of Veracruz said they had prepared 200 storm shelters and planned to open another 2,000 if necessary.

Veracruz Governor Cuitlahuac Garcia warned of the risk of flooding and mudslides as the storm dumped heavy rain on the mountainous region.

Members of the Mexican armed forces were ready to deploy if needed to protect residents, said civil protection national coordinator Laura Velazquez.

Authorities closed most highways in Veracruz, which is crossed by numerous rivers.

In preparation for the storm, workers along the coast boarded up windows to protect stores, fishermen brought their boats ashore and residents secured their homes after stocking up on canned food and water.

“We will spend many days without fishing — almost a week,” said Isabel Pastrana Vazquez, head of Veracruz’s federation of fisheries cooperatives.

“About 35,000 fishermen will be affected because we can’t go out. We’re going to have a swell and rain,” he said.

– ‘Dangerous storm surge’ –

The NHC warned that heavy rainfall in Mexico through the weekend “will result in significant flash and urban flooding as well as mudslides.”

A “dangerous storm surge” would be accompanied by “large and destructive waves” near the coast, it said.

The hurricane had already lashed Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where more than 6,000 tourists and residents were evacuated to storm shelters earlier in the week across the southeastern state of Quintana Roo.

The storm first struck near the town of Tulum, famed for its Mayan temples, drenching a string of Caribbean beach resorts.

The hurricane passed the Riviera Maya coastline without any loss of life, according to Quintana Roo Governor Carlos Joaquin. He said electricity had been almost completely restored across the state. 

It then churned across the Gulf of Mexico, gathering strength as it headed for the mainland.

Authorities in Mexico City warned that the storm could also bring heavy rains to the capital over the weekend.

Hurricane Grace slammed into Mexico for a second time early Saturday as a major Category Three storm, threatening to bring significant flooding and mudslides, US forecasters said.

The storm made landfall near Tecolutla in Veracruz state, clocking maximum sustained winds of 125 miles (200 kilometers) per hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Category Three is the third highest of five levels on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

A hurricane warning was in effect for coastline stretching from Puerto Veracruz to Cabo Rojo.

“Rapid weakening is expected as Grace moves inland over the mountains of central Mexico later today,” the NHC said.

Nearly 8,000 civil defense members, soldiers and electricity board workers were ready to tackle the aftermath of the storm, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wrote on Twitter.

He urged residents living in places considered to be at risk to “seek refuge in high places with relatives and in shelters.”

– Highways closed –

Authorities in the state of Veracruz said they had prepared 200 storm shelters and planned to open another 2,000 if necessary.

Veracruz Governor Cuitlahuac Garcia warned of the risk of flooding and mudslides as the storm dumped heavy rain on the mountainous region.

Members of the Mexican armed forces were ready to deploy if needed to protect residents, said civil protection national coordinator Laura Velazquez.

Authorities closed most highways in Veracruz, which is crossed by numerous rivers.

In preparation for the storm, workers along the coast boarded up windows to protect stores, fishermen brought their boats ashore and residents secured their homes after stocking up on canned food and water.

“We will spend many days without fishing — almost a week,” said Isabel Pastrana Vazquez, head of Veracruz’s federation of fisheries cooperatives.

“About 35,000 fishermen will be affected because we can’t go out. We’re going to have a swell and rain,” he said.

– ‘Dangerous storm surge’ –

The NHC warned that heavy rainfall in Mexico through the weekend “will result in significant flash and urban flooding as well as mudslides.”

A “dangerous storm surge” would be accompanied by “large and destructive waves” near the coast, it said.

The hurricane had already lashed Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where more than 6,000 tourists and residents were evacuated to storm shelters earlier in the week across the southeastern state of Quintana Roo.

The storm first struck near the town of Tulum, famed for its Mayan temples, drenching a string of Caribbean beach resorts.

The hurricane passed the Riviera Maya coastline without any loss of life, according to Quintana Roo Governor Carlos Joaquin. He said electricity had been almost completely restored across the state. 

It then churned across the Gulf of Mexico, gathering strength as it headed for the mainland.

Authorities in Mexico City warned that the storm could also bring heavy rains to the capital over the weekend.

Fish dart across mosaic floors and into the ruined villas, where holidaying Romans once drank, plotted and flirted in the party town of Baiae, now an underwater archaeological park near Naples.

Statues which once decorated luxury abodes in this beachside resort are now playgrounds for crabs off the coast of Italy, where divers can explore ruins of palaces and domed bathhouses built for emperors.

Rome’s nobility were first attracted in the 2nd century BC to the hot springs at Baiae, which sits on the coast within the Campi Flegrei — a supervolcano known in English as the Phlegraean Fields.

Seven emperors, including Augustus and Nero, had villas here, as did Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. The poet Sextus Propertius described the town as a place of vice, which was “foe to virtuous creatures”.

It was where “old men behave like young boys, and lots of young boys act like young girls,” according to the Roman scholar Varro.

But by the 4th century, the porticos, marble columns, shrines and ornamental fish ponds had begun to sink due to bradyseism, the gradual rise and fall of land due to hydrothermal and seismic activity.

The whole area, including the neighbouring commercial capital of Pozzuoli and military seat at Miseno, were submerged. Their ruins now lie between four and six metres (15 to 20 feet) underwater.

– ‘Something unique’ –

“It’s difficult, especially for those coming for the first time, to imagine that you can find things you would never be able to see anywhere else in the world in just a few metres of water,” said Marcello Bertolaso, head of the Campi Flegrei diving centre, which takes tourists around the site.

“Divers love to see very special things, but what you can see in the park of Baiae is something unique.”

The 177-hectare (437-acre) underwater site has been a protected marine area since 2002, following decades in which antiques were found in fishermen’s nets and looters had free rein.

Divers must be accompanied by a registered guide.

A careful sweep of sand near a low wall uncovers a stunning mosaic floor from a villa which belonged to Gaius Calpurnius Pisoni, known to have spent his days here conspiring against Emperor Nero. 

Explorers follow the ancient stones of the coastal road past ruins of spas and shops, the sunlight on a clear day piercing the waves to light up statues. These are replicas; the originals are now in a museum.

“When we research new areas, we gently remove the sand where we know there could be a floor, we document it, and then we re-cover it,” archaeologist Enrico Gallocchio told AFPTV.

“If we don’t, the marine fauna or flora will attack the ruins. The sand protects them,” said Gallocchio, who is in charge of the Baiae park.

“The big ruins were easily discovered by moving a bit of sand, but there are areas where the banks of sand could be metres deep. There are undoubtedly still ancient relics to be found,” he said.

From the sophisticated to downright strange, the pandemic has set off a wave of scams around the world from bogus doses and fake vaccine passes to criminal cremations.

Here are 10 of the most outrageous and nefarious frauds of the last few months:

– ‘Vaccination is optional’ –

Since the French government made proof of vaccination mandatory to enter cafes and other public places this month, a black market selling fake health passes for hundreds of euros has flourished.

Go to the social media app Snapchat, type in “fake health pass” and hey presto. Accounts that rarely last for more than a few days openly advertise counterfeit documents.

Among the ads are “Vaccination is optional thanks to our service” or, “Say no to the vaccine and get a health pass without getting vaccinated.”

Forgers making fake vaccinations certificates are also thriving in Russia.

– Bleed the rich –

At least 800 people were given fake vaccines in Uganda last month in a scam involving “unscrupulous” doctors and health workers who targeted people looking to pay for immunisation, including corporate employees asked to pay between $25-$120 (20-100 euros) for a fake shot.

– Just water –

A bigger scale scam in India’s commercial capital Mumbai in June conned 2,000 people who thought they were being vaccinated.

In fact they were injected with shots of a saline solution. 

– Criminal cremation –

Five gang members in the Indian city of Agra donned full protective gear to cremate a man they had murdered, pretending he had died from Covid-19, in a morbid case exposed in June.

“To avoid being caught… they wore PPE kit and used a body bag to pack and transport the body to the cremation ground,” police said.

– Uncivil servant –

A man posing as a civil servant with a master’s degree in genetics was nabbed in Kolkata in southern India in June for allegedly running as many as eight spurious vaccination camps.

At least 250 disabled and transgender people were injected at one site and nearly 500 people in total are believed to have been given counterfeit jabs. 

The scam came to light after an actress and politician Mimi Chakraborty, who received a shot at one of the camps to raise awareness, became suspicious and alerted police.

– Mean millionaires –

A rich Canadian couple got their comeuppance after travelling to a remote community to receive a vaccine intended for vulnerable and elderly Indigenous people. In June they were fined C$2,300 (US$1,800), but many felt they had got off too lightly and called for a harsher sentence.

– Anti-vaxxer’s revenge –

A vaccine sceptic pharmacist at a hospital in Wisconsin was jailed for three years in June after pleading guilty to tampering with hundreds of Moderna doses in a case that affected 57 people.

The pharmacist had removed vaccine vials from their refrigerator and left them outside for hours before returning them to be administered the next day.

– Robbing prisoners –

Four people were arrested in Indonesia for allegedly stealing vaccines earmarked for prisoners and selling them to the public.

The suspects took more than 1,000 doses of China’s Sinovac jab and offered them to buyers in the country’s capital Jakarta and in Medan, North Sumatra, for around 250,000 rupiah ($17) each.

– Dirty cotton swabs –

Spare a thought for passengers who passed through Medan airport where health workers had been recycling cotton swabs from Covid tests by washing and repackaging them. 

Police said the scheme could have affected thousands of passengers.

– Anti-wrinkle cream –

Fraudsters selling fake doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for as much as $2,500 a shot had earlier been nabbed in Poland and Mexico.

The bogus vials were stored in beer coolers in a Mexico clinic while in Poland the confiscated doses contained a cosmetic substance thought to be anti-wrinkle cream.

burs-eab/fg/lc