Police investigate illegal immigration ring within state department (Updated)

Police on Saturday said they are investigating a ring of illegal provision of privileges to asylum seekers within the immigration department after an officer employed there was arrested for issuing residences with forged documents.

In the first half of this year, fifteen Syrian nationals illegally received supplementary protection status, which provided asylum seekers with privileges such as free medical care and full employment rights, police spokesman Christos Andreou told radio Trito.

These privileges were secured using forged documents, which should not have been accepted by the population and immigration department. The people who submitted those documents should have been reported to the police, he said.

“Instead, the documents were stamped and the applicants were given supplementary protection status,” Andreou noted.

He said police are investigating the existence of a ring within the department and the possibility of intermediaries.

The previous day, police had said that a 40-year-old woman, investigated for offences related to corruption, abuse of authority and neglect of official duty, has been remanded for eight days.

Another six people, aged 21 to 44, were remanded for eight days related to the same case of securing residence permit with forget documents. They are being investigated for offences including conspiracy to commit a felony, fraud, forgery and circulating a forged document.  

Meanwhile, police are searching for nine more people of non-Cypriot origin.

In a tweet on Friday, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said he was disappointed over the incident and was taking all steps necessary to protect the public’s interest.

“Such actions are unacceptable, and the interior ministry will take all action possible to ensure such behaviours are not repeated again.”