Newsroom
A 64-year-old male, suspected of willfully assisting others enter the Republic of Cyprus illegally, was remanded into custody on Wednesday following his arrest at the Astromeritis checkpoint.
Police on Tuesday arrested the man, described as permanent resident in Cyprus, during his attempt to cross by car into the south at the Astromeritis checkpoint, Nicosia district, with four passengers aged, 56, 44, 38, and 21.
During inspection, the officers began to suspect the 64-year-old of human smuggling, willfully attempting to import people into the Republic via illegal entry.
The officers, who reportedly were not fully satisfied as per the stated purpose of visit of the four men, did not allow them entry and turned them away
The officers, who reportedly were not fully satisfied as per the stated purpose of visit of the four males, did not allow them entry and turned them away back into the north side of the checkpoint (Bostanci).
Two mobile phones were confiscated during the arrest and the main suspect has been ordered into remanded custody for five days.
Police told Knews the nationality of the four men was under investigation while they declined to identify the nationality of the suspect in custody, citing the ongoing investigation.
A number of previous incidents involving human smuggling from north into south in that area involved Syrian nationals. In a number of cases, people were found hidden inside vehicles, with police officers becoming more alert at the particular location.
