QCOSTARICA – Four foreigners, including two minors, tried to leave Costa Rica using Covid-19 tests with negative results, which were determined to be falsified.
The fact was announced on Tuesday by the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), detailing that the event occurred on Monday afternoon at the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO).
According to official information, agents of the Air Surveillance Service of the Ministry of Public Security, who deteced the anomalies in the documentation when the traveleres were carrying out immigration procedures.
Immediately, the OIJ was called in to support the Air Surveillance offices to verify the documents.
Authorities did not release details of the forged documents, only to say that the negative test results had the letterhead of a laboratory.
One of the persons involved was Brazilian national, whose destination was Brazil, while the othesr was a Velenzuelan national and two minors whose destination was Bogota, Colombia.
It is now up to the Alajuela Prosecutor’s Office to determine whether to initiate any criminal proceedings against foreigners, for the use of a false document.
Authorities, though could not confirm, warned about the possibility that some criminal group is preparing forged documents for people who need to travel to a country that requires the covid-19 test.
Costa Rica does a negative covid-19 test to leave the country, save for those who are heading to Nicaragua by land, given that the neighboring country requires it and no testing is available on the Nicaragua side of the border.
These are the first cases in which it is revealed that travelers provided false documents.
