Police concerned over increasing number of forged travel documents

The increase in cases of identity fraud and presentation of fake documents, during passport controls at the airports of Cyprus, was the subject of a meeting that took place recently at the Police Headquarters, under the Deputy Chief of Police, Demetris Demetriou. As of the beginning of this year, more than 230 such incidents have been identified.

According to a Police statement, almost every day, during the passport controls carried out at the airports of Cyprus, persons are identified who attempt to travel, mainly to Central European countries, either with forged travel documents or with genuine documents that do not belong to them.

"As of the beginning of this year, more than 230 such incidents have been identified. The specially trained members of the Aliens and Immigration Service, who staff the points of passport control, with special equipment, carry out the necessary checks for the authenticity of travel documents, as well as for any offenses related to impersonation", the statement said.

Specifically, more than 90 cases concerned foreigners who attempted to travel with forged travel documents and more than 140 concerned identity fraud cases, as foreigners attempted to travel with genuine travel documents, which however did not belong to them.

The Police note that in 2021 they handled more than 110 cases involving the presentation of fake travel documents and more than 150 cases of impersonation.

Furthermore, as of the beginning of this year the Police, through the Aliens and Immigration Service, proceeded to investigate more than 50 cases involving smugglers of immigrants resulting in the arrest of more than 80 people. In 2021, approximately 30 cases were investigated which resulted in 50 arrests.

Additionally, in the first nine months of 2022, more than 5,260 people were deported from Cyprus or voluntarily returned to their countries, of which 650 were in police custody, according to the statement.

In the meeting, which was attended by members of various competent Services and Police Departments, the phenomenon was discussed, as well as further measures to deal with it.