12 suspects detained for illegal COVID-19 testing on Istanbul streets

A network of 12 suspects was detained for conducting illegal "COVID-19 tests" on the streets in Istanbul. The network sold false negative reports for up to 300 liras and imitated the logo and titles of the Turkish Health Ministry.

Monday March 01 2021 01:25 pm

Duvar English

Twelve suspects were detained in Istanbul for conducting illegal "COVID-19 tests" on the streets in Istanbul, and for selling false negative test result reports for up to 300 liras.

While a Georgian national identified as N.M. was reported as leading the organization, a Syrian identified as M.T. reportedly served as the "doctor" in the testing scheme.

Three people were arrested in connection to the organization, as video footage showed the suspects taking swabs from "patients" in the middle of the street. They reportedly conducted tests out of travel agencies' offices.

İstanbul'da sahte Kovid-19 negatif test sonucu satan şebeke çökertildi. Şebekenin sokak ortasında test yaptıkları görüntüler ortaya çıktı https://t.co/nTUWPtqGuu pic.twitter.com/W2jnfqiWQu
— Sputnik Türkiye (@sputnik_TR) February 28, 2021

The network operated a website that displayed the false negative results through QR codes they put on the reports they sold to clients.

The suspects also used the names of doctors who are actively working and imitated the logo and title of the Health Ministry in the documents they produced.