Spate of arrests for assisting illegal entry of third country nationals

Police on Monday arrested four persons in Famagusta for a number of attempts to assist illegal immigration by sea. Three of the suspects were arrested for helping third-country nationals enter the republic, while the fourth was arrested for leaving his accommodation location for immigrants and departing from an unauthorised port.

Specifically, a warrant was issued for a 37-year-old man who appears to have been navigator of a boat ferrying ​​16 immigrants. Background checks revealed he had previously resided in the republic and had been declared a prohibited immigrant.

Two men, aged 42 and 20, were arrested for arrival by sea ferrying 58 immigrants, last Sunday.

The fourth person, a 29-year-old man, had arrived by sea with eight other immigrants, on April 1 last year, and was located and arrested for leaving his designated accommodation location, and departing from an unauthorised port. Police background checks revealed he, too, had been in the republic previously in 2018, when he had been granted a temporary residence permit.

The cases are under ongoing investigation.