Marrakech Labs Exposed in Fake COVID-19 Test Certificate Scheme

The mandatory presentation of a negative test before boarding a plane has given ideas to accredited laboratories. In Marrakech, the latter sell fake negative Covid-19 test certificates for around 200 DH per unit (about 20 euros) to travelers instead of 600 DH, the price charged for a real PCR test, reports Al Ahdath Al Maghribia. To carry out this trafficking, these laboratories publish online ads to inform travelers of the possibility of picking up this fake test at airports and ports.

In the United Kingdom and France, the trafficking of fake negative certificates had been dismantled at the end of 2020. In February 2021, the European police agency Europol had warned travelers against the system of selling fake negative Covid-19 test certificates in airports by organized crime, for sums up to 300 euros per piece.