26 Jan 2022

Christchurch man charged in relation to making and distributing false vaccine passes

6:34 pm on 26 January 2022

Canterbury police are offering an amnesty for people who received fake Covid-19 vaccine passes from a Rangiora man.

Police generic

Police said they were working through a list of people in the wider Christchurch area who were given the printed fake Covid-19 vaccine passes. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller

The 61-year-old was arrested earlier today and charged with forgery. Police also seized several devices, with inquiries ongoing.

Police said they were working through a list of people in the wider Christchurch area who were given the printed passes.

Those people have until 4pm on Tuesday to surrender the fake documents to Rangiora Police Station.

The passes have a QR code that does not scan correctly.

Police said businesses should refuse entry to people whose vaccine passes did not scan correctly or if they were not satisfied a pass matched the identity of its bearer.

"This is a timely reminder to ensure that all passes, either electronic or physical, are correctly scanned and checked."

The charged man will appear in Christchurch District Court on 1 February.