In North Rhine-Westphalia, the police are in action with a large contingent: a raid is taking place on suspicion of fake corona vaccination certificates.
Cologne – In a large-scale raid, the police in North Rhine-Westphalia went in search of fake corona vaccination certificates. Around 260 police officers were on duty early on Tuesday morning (03/08/2022). A total of 70 apartments and a company in five cities and counties were searched.
The background to the raid was investigations by the public prosecutor’s office in Cologne against a doctor’s assistant who is said to have falsified vaccination cards and certificates, as the police reported. The investigating authorities had identified a total of 59 possible customers. A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office said when asked that all of the cases involved suspected falsifications of corona vaccination certificates. The police were on duty in Cologne, Leverkusen, the Rhein-Erft district, the Mettmann district and in the Oberberg district.
Corona vaccination cards: raids in NRW – investigations into fake vaccination certificates
In addition to the cases in connection with the accused medical assistant, 15 other proceedings are being investigated. The starting point is, among other things, that fake corona vaccination cards are said to have been presented in pharmacies or to the employer for digitization. The authorities are targeting a total of 77 suspects between the ages of 16 and 74. They are being investigated on suspicion of falsifying documents, producing incorrect vaccination cards and issuing incorrect health certificates.
The “Stempel” investigative group, which had already started a similar search three weeks ago, was responsible for the raid. At that time, around 200 police officers were on duty and 40 homes were searched. The aim of the two campaigns was to find fake vaccination cards, digital vaccination certificates in connection with Corona and to find further indications of possible dealers and counterfeit items.
Fraud with corona vaccinations: raid on test centers in NRW
Similar searches were also carried out outside of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was not until January that the police in Hesse started a raid because of fake corona vaccination cards. Among other things, vaccination cards and smartphones were seized. In addition, blood was drawn from the suspects to clarify the actual vaccination status. The starting point at the time was the case of a family doctor in Bavaria who is said to have administered sham vaccinations and issued corona vaccination certificates without vaccination.
Fraud is also common in corona test centers. The finding that some test centers only reported negative results despite the high number of cases resulted in another raid on corona test centers in North Rhine-Westphalia. (vbu)
