Croatian Police Discover Over 700 Fake PCR Tests So Far This Year

ZAGREB, 19 July 2021 - So far this year, Croatian police have discovered over 700 forged PCR tests, but no fake EU digital COVID certificates.

By 14 July this year, a total of 703 counterfeit PCR tests have been discovered, mostly in Vukovar-Srijem County (251), Slavonski Brod-Posavina County (134), Istria County (95), and Split-Dalmatia County (64), the Ministry of the Interior said on Monday.

Last week, police found 26 persons, including 13 minors, trying to enter a football stadium in Split with fake PCR tests. In late May, in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, 26 people were discovered in the process of forging PCR tests and most of them were foreign nationals.

At several border crossing points, PCR tests shown by foreign nationals turned out to be forged. Among the foreigners with forged tests were citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Austria, Albania, Kosovo, the Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia. Croatian citizens are also known to have used forged PCR tests to enter the country or to have the self-isolation order lifted.

Some of the foreign nationals admitted that they found a negative PCR test online and then made an effort to put their own details in it.

The police say that so far they have not encountered any forged EU digital COVID certificates nor do they have any records of their misuse.

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