Four remanded in north after plan revealed to cross into RoC

Police in the north have remanded four men of African descent for attempting to illegally cross into the Republic.

The four men reportedly paid a Turkish national to smuggle them into the south of the island on the night of April 12.

The car they were in was stopped by police on patrol at around 11.30pm in the area of Karavas (Alsancak) where on being questioned, the plan came to light.

The Turkish man, who has been fined TL5,000, on top of not being able to leave the north, said that the men paid him €120 in total, an amount being disputed by one of them, who reported that they paid him €350 each.

The four will remain in custody until trial, which the court ruled must take place within one month.

The Turkish national will also have to report to the police once a week and released on a TL100,000 bond.

The Cyprus government has repeatedly called on the Turkish Cypriot side to help stop the flow of irregular migration across the island’s 180km-long buffer zone, and has appealed to the EU for help.

Razor-wire and high gates have now been placed in some areas but it has not slowed down the flow as yet.

Around 95 per cent of all irregular migrants to the Republic come from the north, sometimes a 100 people a day, the interior minister Nicos Nouris has stated previously.

It is rare for any arrests to be made in the north in connection with the flow.

Nouris has accused Turkey of instrumentalising the migration issue by sending migrants to Cyprus through the buffer zone from the north.

The people crossing the buffer zone usually come from Sub-Saharan Africa through Tymbou (Ercan)airport in the north via Turkey with a 60-day ‘visa’.

The installation of a surveillance system to monitor arrivals through the buffer zone is expected to start in August coupled with a special ‘task force’ to monitor the ceasefire line.