The Berlin Senate is seeking clarification as to what exactly happened with an Asian delivery of 200,000 protective masks, which was never in the capital. “We are in the process to clarify the Details,” said the speaker of the interior administration, Martin Pallgen, on Saturday. Currently there are no information yet, what exactly happened at the airport in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

Senator Andreas hostage (SPD) announced on Friday, the masks were intended for the Berlin police, had been confiscated in Bangkok at the initiative of the United States “confiscation”. He accused Washington of “an act of modern piracy” and spoke of “wild West methods.” The Portal t-online.de quoted a high U.S. government officials as saying that the allegations are “completely false”. dpa/Paul Zinken/dpa Berlin’s interior Senator Andreas hostage (SPD) at a press conference.

“The Senate is looking for a culprit”

The CDU accused the Berlin Senate, in turn, “conscious misdirection” and “disinformation”. “The Senate is looking for a culprit to cover his own incompetence in the procurement of protective equipment,” said the CDU parliamentary leader, Burkard Dregger. “He has not prepared for the crisis. And now he is not able to obtain in the crisis Material.“

Overall, I ordered the Berlin police in a German specialized trade of 400,000 medical masks, protection class FFP 2 and paid for, explained spokesman Pallgen on Saturday. He corrected this information in the internal management of the previous day in which an order with a US manufacturer, the speech had been.

Mysterious “US Directive”?

the statement that The masks had been confiscated in Bangkok, confiscated, based on the speaker, according to information provided by the dealer. “The dealer has informed the police that the delivery of a US-cancelled Directive and the cargo aircraft with the delivery to Germany, but in the United States flown by.”

on the question of 200,000 masks that can protect from infection with the Coronavirus, he said, the first Batch of the order, said the spokesman continues. Together with the specialist trade and the Berlin police and the Senate try the exact supply chain to understand. Where the masks will be produced and from which manufacturer, is currently not known.

dispute over coveted merchandise

Berlin-based media had speculated that the masks had been ordered from the US company 3M had produced in a factory in China. The company said on Friday evening (local time): “3M has no evidence to suggest that 3M products have been seized. 3M has no record of an order of respiratory protection masks from China for the Berlin police.“

Medical protective masks are in the Corona-crisis world a much-coveted commodity. You will need to be procured to a large extent on the world market, the enormous competitive. There are also reports that the United States wegkauften other States ordered protective material to the more times the price in front of the nose. The Berlin Senate has Pallgen that there is currently no evidence that the delivery in the specific case.

“The United States simply paid more!”

Dregger believes, however, firmly in mind. “The USA have simply paid more,” he claimed on Twitter. How he has this knowledge, not he said. “I expect the Senate that he can adapt to the business practices of others, and the procurement performs,” says Dregger. “Wake up: aircraft chartering, grab the money and act!” A number of the politicians of the red-red-green coalition threw Dregger then “cheap polemics” and mood do, including Senate Chancellery-in-chief, Christian Gaebler (SPD).

“it is Clear that the Berlin police Department is in need of protective masks,” added the speaker of the interior administration. You try to find other ways to obtain. Currently, a mask, for about 50 Euro-cents were due to cost, the 6 Euro. At 400,000 masks around 2.4 million euros together – instead of in front of the Corona-pandemic 200,000 euros. One out of every five would be fellow citizens in case of violation of prohibition of Contact ads, FOCUS Online/Wochit one in five would ban fellow-citizens in breach of Contact display

flr/dpa