Four North East crooks have been caught in a large-scale fake Covid jab passport scam. A tough crackdown by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and NHS England has exposed fraudsters selling bogus Covid vaccine records during the pandemic.
The NCA named the accused as Christopher Thompson, 36, from Horden; Shahid Hussain, 33, from Middlesbrough; and Ian Taylor, 42, along with Abbey-Leigh Coates, 25, both from Darlington. They were arrested between early 2022 and 2023 for forging and selling fake Covid vaccination certificates.
Shockingly, the gang produced a staggering 1,168 fake vaccine records between June 2021 and January 2022. Some of these counterfeit certificates were even created inside a health centre in Darlington.
The joint investigation by the NCA and NHS demonstrates zero tolerance for Covid passport scams. This fraudulent operation not only cheated the system but also posed a risk to public health during a critical time. Police have vowed to bring more scammers to justice.
Originally published by UKNIP.
