Kurdistan Region arrests gang accused of counterfeiting COVID-19 vaccination cards

Kurdistan Region Health Minister Saman Barznji makes a speech during a press conference in Erbil, Sept. 28, 2021. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
Kurdistan Region Health Minister Saman Barznji makes a speech during a press conference in Erbil, Sept. 28, 2021. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The autonomous Kurdistan Region announced on Tuesday the arrest of a gang accused of forging COVID-19 vaccination cards.

Health Minister Saman Barznji said in a press conference held in Erbil that the suspects were captured in cooperation with various security services, indicating that investigations into the group are still ongoing, with its members facing charges of having charged money in exchange for issuing fake vaccination cards.

He pointed out that any residents caught possessing counterfeit cards at airports abroad would be prosecuted, stressing that no one can effectively use them with security services, since validated vaccination cards issued by the health ministry bear an international barcode number.

Barznji called on members of the public to obtain vaccination smart cards through legal means “otherwise they will be legally held accountable.”

Earlier in the day, health officials announced 1,401 new coronavirus cases and 19 deaths over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 329,519, with some 5,838 proving fatal.

On Saturday, Erbil Health Directorate called on fully vaccinated citizens of the Kurdistan Region to visit health centers and obtain smart cards that would facilitate domestic and international travel.

Read More: COVID-19: Erbil begins program to issue vaccinated citizens new smart cards to facilitate travel

The supervisor of the smart card program in Erbil, Bzhar Musa, told Kurdistan 24, "Citizens should go to the center where they received two doses with a copy of their passport and their vaccination card to get smart cards."

The "smart card" is like a passport that enables its holders to prove they have completed being given both doses included in the inoculation.