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12 jailed for trying to leave Cyprus on stolen ID

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Larnaca district court on Tuesday handed down 10-month prison sentences to 12 people in relation to impersonation and carrying forged documents, police said.

Police had previously expressed concern over a surge in third country nationals attempting to travel from Larnaca and Paphos airports to EU countries on forged or stolen documents.

On Tuesday, 14 people were brought before the Larnaca district court for seven different cases relating to impersonation and carrying forged documents, police said in an announcement.

“In different cases, these individuals tried to travel to various destinations from Larnaca airport using travel documents that did not belong to them.”

The court handed down 10-month sentences to 12 of the suspects.

The other two refused to cooperate and will be facing the court again on Thursday.

In the latest incident of this growing trend, a Congolese woman was arrested after she tried to depart the island using documents that did not belong to her, police said on Tuesday.

The woman arrived at the Paphos airport around noon on Monday to board a flight to France.

However, during passport check, airport employees realised that the woman did not look like the person depicted on the photo of the ID she presented.

The woman was arrested and later admitted during her statement at the Paphos CID offices that the identity she presented did not belong to her and that she is from Congo.

She is being investigated for the case of forgery, illegal entry and illegal stay in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, police said.

Police said that the name on the ID was not identified through the asylum service system or the country’s population data.

 

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