Man imprisoned after travelling on fake British passport

A man who travelled from the Republic to the north and then to Turkey using a counterfeit British passport was sentenced to a year in prison in the north on Tuesday.

Kwydeir Amer crossed from the Republic to the north via the Ledra Street crossing point on April 16 using the passport, before passing through passport control in the departure area of Ercan (Tymbou) airport the following day.

Upon his arrival at Antalya airport in Turkey, Turkish police found his passport to be fake and returned him to the north, where he was arrested.

Amer had obtained his counterfeit British passport on a previous visit to Turkey earlier in April, paying $6,000 (€5,673), before first using it on April 16.

Judge Tutku Candas said the punishment handed down to Amer should act as a “deterrent” given that crimes involving forged documents are “becoming increasingly common”.