Four arrests after two more migrant boats arrive (updated)

A total of four arrests have been made after two boats carrying irregular migrants arrived in the Cape Greco area on Monday night, with a combined 44 people on board.

The first was detected off the coast of Cape Greco at around 7:30pm. A maritime police boat intercepted it at sea and found 18 men, five women, and three children on board.

All 26 were transported safely to the fishing shelter in Paralimni by midnight, and police arrested the boat’s captain and one passenger who had previously had an asylum application rejected.

The remaining 24 migrants were transported to the Pournara migrant reception centre.

Later on, at 2:55am on Tuesday, police detected a second boat in the area of Cape Greco. They found 17 men and one child on board, who were all transported to the fishing shelter in Paralimni to have their details recorded.

Police later announced they had arrested a 19-year-old man and a 32-year-old man from the second boat. The 19-year-old was the boat’s captain, while the 32-year-old had previously had an asylum application rejected in Cyprus.

The 16 other passengers on the boat, were transferred to the Pournara migrant reception centre.