A 60-year-old Komotini man was arrested on Wednesday evening at a border post on the Greece-Turkey frontier as he was found in possession of 24 vials of sheep pox vaccines, which are considered as contraband in Greece and the rest of the European Union. The quantity equals roughly 1,200 doses, authorities later revealed.

The incident marks the first time such illegal animal vaccines have been seized at the Greek borders.

The substances were reportedly manufactured in neighboring Turkey. No such vaccines are licensed for use in the EU, and experts have warned that such substances imported from third countries could have devastating effects on livestock.

According to authorities, the suspect claimed he received a box containing the vaccine vials at a bus station in the city of Keşan, which lies just across the northeast Greece border in European Turkey, with the sender being an individual from Istanbul.

The man was arrested, and charges were brought against him by customs officers.

Since August 2024, Greek authorities have detected hundreds of cases of sheep and goal pox around the country.

To date, more than 327,000 animals have been culled, with nearly half of these losses occurring over the last three months alone.