Eight-day remand for five suspected people-smugglers

Famagusta district court on Friday issued an eight-day detention order against five Syrian nationals aged 53, 51, 46, 50 and 49 to facilitate investigations in connection with assisting a third country national to illegally enter Cyprus, illegal entry and transporting persons by waterways in an unsafe or overloaded vessel.

“At approximately 2.15pm on Wednesday August 24 the marine and port police radar spotted a vessel just off Cape Greco. A port police vessel approached a wooden boat two hours later to find five adult men from Syria,” police spokesman Christos Andreou said in a statement.

“Shortly before 7pm a second wooden boat was spotted of Cape Greco in which after investigation it was found to be transporting 32 migrants, of which seven were underage,” he added.

Notably, just after 01.30am the two boats sank because of bad whether conditions resulting in marine police collecting them and transferring them to safety, according to CNA.

The boat’s passengers told police that they sailed of from Syria early in the morning on August 24.

According to Andreou, during police investigations testimony against the five men emerged, involving them in the crimes now under investigation. In addition, it was found that one of the five individuals had been previously banned from entering Cyprus.

Andreou further noted that the 17 men from Syria who were found on a boat on Thursday August 25 just off Cape Greco were transported to the Pournara centre.