Arrests in fake uni qualifications inquiry

A police investigation into fake tertiary qualifications has led to the arrest of three Chinese nationals in Auckland.

The forged documentation included degrees, diplomas and academic records reputedly from various New Zealand universities, police said today.

They believed more than 100 sets of false documents had been produced over the past three years.

The items police had seized all contained Chinese names as the recipients.

Detective Inspector Stu Allsopp-Smith said the documents stated that the person named had completed a prerequisite course of university study.

While the documents had been professionally produced, there was no evidence that those responsible had been able to compromise university academic registries, where records of all academic achievement can readily be validated.

Mr Allsopp-Smith said the use and production of such documents was not new in New Zealand or overseas.

But he said the risks of buying and using such documents could have long-lasting effects for those who committed criminal offences by obtaining them.

People who had such documents were urged to hand them in at a police station.

The three arrested were a woman, 27, and two men, 26 and 27, and they were due to appear in Manukau District Court charged with forgery.

- NZPA