Police Say Counterfeit COVID-19 Test Reports Create New Cluster

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Metro Jaya Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus said Monday the rampant availability of counterfeit COVID-19 test reports had resulted in the 'aircraft cluster' as those infected helped spread the virus to other passengers.

“The implications of this forgery is huge, it even caused the aircraft cluster,” he said at the Metro Jaya Police headquarters on Monday, January 25. 

Due to this fact, Yusri said the police would pay serious attention to criminal syndicates that continued to produce fake coronavirus test results. He added the police would arrest people who use the illegal services.  

“There have been no signs of dropping infection rate of COVID-19. So don't let this kind of case recur,” said the Metro Jaya Police's Criminal Investigation Director, Sr. Comr. Ade Hidayat. 

Earlier, the police arrested another criminal syndicate specializing in counterfeit COVID-19 test reports, both rapid tests and PCR swab tests, that were sold through social media and word of mouth.

“Some of the suspects work as employees in laboratories and clinics,” said Yusri said on January 25.

The suspects had marketed their services since November 2020 with price tags of Rp90,000 for a counterfeit antigen rapid test and Rp900,000 for a fake PCR swab test result. To investigators, the suspects claimed they had sold 11 fake test results.

Read: Police Again Nab Counterfeit COVID-19 Test Result Syndicate

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH