Hessian investigators managed to strike a blow against the trade in forged corona vaccination cards on Wednesday.
A total of twelve suspects were arrested in a major raid in southern Hesse, the Rhine-Main area and two cities in Baden-Württemberg - including two 36 and 42-year-old men.
They are said to have sold at least 300 imitation vaccination cards for up to 400 euros each.
Ten of the arrested are alleged buyers, as the public prosecutor in Darmstadt, the police headquarters in South Hesse and the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) in Wiesbaden jointly announced.
During the raid in Bickenbach, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Darmstadt, Weiterstadt, Bensheim, Groß -zimmer, Offenbach, Dietzenbach, Kassel, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, more than 200 police officers searched a total of 23 apartments and houses.
Incorrect QR codes on offer too
In addition to fake vaccination passports, the two alleged fraudsters are said to have also offered false QR codes, according to the investigation.
Between 100 and 400 euros were paid for the counterfeits.
In total, the authorities are investigating 20 alleged customers.
Blank vaccination cards, cell phones, data carriers and tens of thousands of euros in cash were seized.
For months, forged vaccination cards have been in circulation in Hessen.
According to LKA information from the past week, the number of known cases is in the lower three-digit range.
According to this, however, the cases have been increasing since unvaccinated people have a much more difficult everyday life.
The forged IDs are mostly noticed during police checks or are reported by pharmacies, for example.