It is considered safe: the PCR test. If this is negative, the world is more or less open. And that’s exactly how criminals try to make money. They simply fake the PCR tests and sell them for up to 800 francs. The police in Kosovo have now taken down a forgery laboratory in the city of Podujeva. Two people were caught falsifying tests this is reported by the Swiss Albanian portal “Le Canton27.ch” (“The 27th Canton”). Not an isolated case.
In Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia, over 100 people have now been arrested in connection with falsified PCR tests. In one case, the authorities seized several computers.
Hardly any masks and fake tests: This is what Blick readers experienced during their holidays in the Balkans(01:48)
BAG recognizes all certificates
The certificates are particularly popular with travelers traveling to western countries – including Switzerland. Because so far the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) has recognized the certificates from the Balkan countries in this country.
“There are currently no tests from regions or countries that are not recognized due to abuse or otherwise. Therefore, a PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 from Kosovo can be used, ”says BAG spokesman Yann Hulmann to“ Le Canton27.ch ”.
It is not new that corona tests are faked. Interpol had already warned last year that criminals would try to make money with it.
This news pours fuel on the fire surrounding the “Alba debate”. The canton of Zurich banned the music festival this weekend because it is aimed at a “severely affected community”. Certificates would have been required on the festival site – but perhaps the authorities feared that many visitors would turn up with those fake PCR tests. (jmh / bö)
Balkan returnees at the airport: “Almost everyone I know got infected there”(01:10)
The situation is becoming more and more precarious: That is why the number of infections in the Balkans is so high(00:49)