Spanish Police Bust Pharmacy Worker for Selling Fake PCR Tests to Morocco-Bound Travelers

The suspect, a 24-year-old man, is an employee in a pharmacy. He is accused of a presumed crime of document forgery, the police said on Monday, recalling that they had launched an operation in El Ejido since April 20, after learning of the existence of a "black market" for PCR tests in a pharmacy in the city.

After an investigation, the police discovered that one of the pharmacy employees had created a "well-organized network" to attract customers and commit his crime in secret. The suspect performs PCR tests in the pharmacy, then sends the samples to a laboratory in the province of Barcelona where he analyzes them and issues the result. To do this, he accesses the laboratory’s computer and falsifies the original documents by changing the patient’s name. The service costs around 130 euros, and varies depending on the traveler’s financial capacity.

The young man would also have created his own travel agency in parallel to sell plane tickets to Moroccan travelers, whom he then directs to the pharmacy where he works to deliver fake PCR tests. Seven cases of fake PCR tests have already been detected by the police, who are continuing their investigation. Meanwhile, the suspect has been brought before the competent court.

The requirement to present a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours before entering the territory of countries in a pandemic situation leads some to create illegal networks to deliver fake tests to travelers willing to do anything to return to their country.