Two men face charges for allegedly producing fake Covid vaccination records to help others bypass travel restrictions
Luton: So, here’s the scoop. Two guys have been charged for whipping up thousands of fake Covid vaccination records. This whole thing let people travel when there were strict rules during the pandemic. The National Crime Agency and NHS England got involved after discovering nearly 2,000 fake records being made and sold at a health center in Luton from June to October 2021. They even found £145,000 in cash stashed away in a safety deposit box.
One of the guys, Waqas Hanif, 26, got nabbed by NCA officers back in January 2022. The other, Touqir Nasir, 29, showed up for a voluntary chat in March 2022. Both are facing charges under the Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act, and they’re set to appear in Luton Magistrates’ Court soon.
Paul Foster, who’s the Deputy Director at the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, made it clear that while getting vaccinated is a personal choice, messing with the healthcare system to help unvaccinated folks dodge restrictions is a big no-no. He emphasized that this investigation is all about keeping our communities safe and stopping organized crime from taking advantage of the pandemic.
