Man posing as inspector tries to gain access to COVID-19 vaccines at Quebec pharmacy

The Jean Coutu Group Inc. is warning its pharmacies to be vigilant, after a man presented himself as a vaccine inspector at one of their locations.

A security memo obtained by CBC Montreal says the man showed up one hour before closing and said he was with a security agency tasked with verifying their stock of vaccines.

A spokesperson for Jean Coutu told CBC that Repentigny police are investigating the April 12 incident and the pharmacy chain could not comment further. Repentigny is an off-island suburb just east of Montreal.

The memo says the man even presented documentation and identification supporting his claims.

The manager of the location told the man they were not aware of inspections and did not give him access to the stock, the memo says.

After the visit, a call was made to health authorities and the store was told no such inspections are taking place.

The memo includes an image of the man who allegedly posed as the inspector. The memo encourages store managers to be on the lookout for him or others acting in the same way.

"If unfortunately you are the victim of theft related to this individual, please contact the police and advise them that a file is already open," says the memo, which was sent by the company's head of security, Sylvain Giguère.

Repentigny police are investigating. For now, they say they will not share any information regarding the case, including the photo of the suspect.

The Jean Coutu network has 416 franchised stores in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario.

Quebec has an agreement with about 1,400 pharmacists across the province to administer vaccines — with the goal of two million doses given by the end of July in pharmacies.