The fraud detection occurred at the Jose Joaquín de Olmedo airport in Guayaquil
Five people attempted to travel to Galapagos with fake COVID-19 certificates
JUAN DANIEL PONCE
Updated 01/28/2021 4:54 PM
Health control security measures are permanent due to the coronavirus. This is one of the control stations at the José Joaquín de Olmedo airport. JUAN FAUSTOS SANDOVAL / EXPRESO
At the José Joaquín de Olmedo airport in Guayaquil, five Ecuadorian citizens were detained by agents of the Judicial Police of Zone 8 for presenting rapid tests of COVID-19, allegedly false or adulterated .
The arrest occurred during an operation to register the required documents for passengers . People were preparing to board a flight to the Galapagos Islands.
Agents from the Ministry of Public Health, the Autonomous Government of Galapagos and the Police participated in the control, who transferred those apprehended to the Flagrancia Modelo Unit for not justifying the origin of the evidence .
At the beginning of 2021, controls at the air terminal were intensified after several citizen complaints that alerted authorities to adulterated rapid Covid-19 tests.
As associative evidence, the Police seized the certificates , two laptops and six cell phones, which were entered in the Collection Center of the Judicial Police.
These are not the only cases where the Police has detected false evidence at the air terminal. Last Tuesday, January 19, the agents apprehended three American citizens for the alleged crime of falsification and use of false documents.
According to the Police, the citizens registered visible adulterations in the logo of the laboratory that supposedly had granted them the certificates. Then, the uniformed officers contacted the representative of the ONELABT SA laboratory , who certified that the company has not delivered these certificates and that they do not present the characteristics of the documents they issue to their clients.
Read the original coverage from Expreso EC at https://www.expreso.ec/guayaquil/cinco-personas-pretendian-viajar-galapagos-pruebas-covid-19-falsas-97792.html
Read additional coverage of this story via Extra EC at https://www.extra.ec/noticia/actualidad/otros-5-detenidos-volar-galapagos-pruebas-truchas-covid-19-47489.html
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