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A Syrian man who was reported missing ended up getting arrested, with police investigating whether he obtained asylum documents on false pretenses.
Police say 24-year-old Syrian national Abdulrazak Ali Azi was arrested in Limassol on Sunday, almost 11 months from the date he vanished from an anchored boat in Latchi, Paphos.
While a change of name could be done legally through filing a petition, police say they suspect fraud in this case
But the man had been working at a company in Limassol when police last week issued a missing person alert for the suspect under a different name, Fadi Khadoor Abdul Waed, saying he went missing on 7 July 2018. The name on the police report was modified days later under the same photo.
While police did not confirm the exact date of the filing of the missing complaint, media sources said a former employer, a local boat captain, had reported the man missing at the time of his disappearance.
Suspect had been working in Limassol
It later turned out that the Syrian man has been working for a company in Limassol and had obtained political asylum status in the Republic of Cyprus under a different name.
Police told Knews they were investigating whether the suspect committed a crime by giving a different name on his asylum application. While a change of name could be done legally, police said they suspected fraud in the circumstances of this case.
Multiple charges include conspiracy to commit a felony, criminal impersonation, forgery, and document fraud.
