What a great deal by the border officers among the fight against coronavirus-related frauds… Seven people have been arrested as part of the investigation on faux false negative Covid-19 test certificates sold at a dear price at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, in order to board without having to get tested. The officers found 200 faux certificates in the phones of the people arrested, “made on site and enabling to board international flights” Bobigny public prosecutor’s department explained to the AFP.
Six males and a female – aged 29 to 52 – have been arrested. The counterfeiters have been sued with the following charges: “forgery, falsification of records and complicity in the frauds” the Bobigny public prosecutor’s department added. How did they do? According to an airport source, the falsified certificates were made at the last minute, stealing the name of an already-existing laboratory, then given to the buyers on site on a piece of paper or mobile. A door opener which price varied between €150 and €300, the Bobigny public prosecutor’s department says.
Lead since September 2020 by the Border Officers, the investigation started “after a passenger that checked in for a flight to Addis-Abeba with a false virus-non-contamination certificate was discovered” the airport source said. Counterfeiters that used to make those frauds mainly for passengers heading to countries on the African continent, and already known as clandestine luggage “packers”.
The seven people arrested expose themselves to up to 5 years’ prison and fined €375,000. Trial is already scheduled for March 2021.
