As they flew from Melbourne to Brisbane and reportedly missed quarantine, Queensland Police attacked three people who caused a coronavirus emergency.
Diana Lasu, 21, Olivia Muranga, 19, and another 21-year-old woman have been charged with fraud over the incident and lying to health officials.
Police alleges that the pair intentionally misled officials by falsifying paperwork as they cross back into the Sunshine State.
They’ve been in the group for eight days before this week two of them tested positive for COVID-19.
One of the women’s sisters even got infected.
Police have forensically examined the women’s mobile phones to see exactly where they had been while infectious.
“We’re very disappointed that we have had to have such a major rapid response because of people not declaring they had been to a Melbourne hotspot,” Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski told Sunrise on Friday.
“What we have been able to uncover through our investigations is verify where these people have been, particularly the two who have tested positive.”
“This allows us to do our contact tracing and testing of all of the people in those areas that may have been impacted.”
The women were charged with fraud and given false or misleading information under the Public Health Act and are expected to appear on September 28 in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
“In this instance what we’ve seen is people who have done a deliberate deception,” Gollschewski continued.
“We view this one very seriously, which is why we’ve gone to the extent of doing an investigation which ultimately ends up with them being charged and going to court on criminal charges, as opposed to other people that we have been issuing on the spot fines to.”