Filenews 13 September 2023
Access to the First Reception Center "Pournara" was granted to the migrant smuggling ring that was dismantled the day before yesterday by the Police, arresting and detaining four people, all of Syrian origin.
They were taken through the main entrance and checked out the back door to avoid the police, while video calling their relatives proved they had done the job and were paid the $3,500 tariff.
The new ring was dismantled, as reported yesterday at the Nicosia District Court where the four suspects were transferred, after a Syrian came to the Asylum Service and revealed everything, since he was also one of the persons transferred from Lebanon to Cyprus last November.
The four arrested, including a minor (17 years old), are detained under an eight-day decree and are being investigated for the offenses of conspiracy to commit a felony and misdemeanor, for participation in a criminal organization, for participation and acceptance of committing crimes, transportation of a person by water in an unsafe, or overloaded boat, etc. In the possession of some were found documents of the Asylum Service, and accounts and other documents being studied.
The ICF Headquarters investigations began when on 25/08/2023 a Syrian went to the offices of the Asylum Service where he expressed his desire to provide information about a migrant smuggling ring from Lebanon, whose members are in Cyprus. In his testimony he stated the following:
In 2009 he left Syria with his family due to the war and went to Tripoli in Lebanon. There, two of his compatriots find "clients" for another compatriot who is in Cyprus. On 18/11/2022, while working in his business, the two Syrians approached him and asked him if he wished to arrange a trip to Germany and he replied negatively because it would take a lot of time, but he told them that he wanted to come to Cyprus. They then gave him the phone number of a third Syrian, who told him that the trip would cost $3,500 and that he would have to pay $500 as a deposit, which he did. He was also told that in two hours he would be picked up by a vehicle to take him to the beach.
Soon, a minibus with two other Syrians arrived and took them to a beach in the Lebanese city of Akkar where there were other people of Syrian origin. A little later, a boat came and they departed for Cyprus. At about three kilometers, there was another boat stationary and after approaching it, the captain boarded it and returned back to shore. The rest continued their journey to Cyprus guided by a young man who just arrived in Cyprus stated that he was a minor and was not arrested by the police.
All of them were transported by bus to "Pournara" under police escort. Upon arrival, two of the four suspects, who are brothers, were waiting for him at the gate. They called him to the entrance and after photographing him with their mobile phone, they told him to enter the camp normally and then go to the east entrance where they would wait for him.
When they departed from "Pournara" they took him to their home and from there they sent his photo to his mother in Lebanon through the WhatsAPP application and after he spoke with her and confirmed his arrival in Cyprus, his mother gave the amount of $3,000 to their cousin. According to the witness, the reported money would be sent to one of the suspects, who is the main trafficker.
As reported to the Court, further examinations by the Police revealed evidence according to which the role of the first suspect, 26 years old, in this illegal network of illegal immigrants, is to identify Syrian nationals who reside in Lebanon and wish to leave, while receiving the advance payment together with a second person.
According to police, the second suspect, 25, is alleged to be the leader of the migrant transport network, which coordinates their arrival in Cyprus. As for his 23-year-old brother, according to the police, his role is the safe arrival of migrants in Cyprus. As for the fourth suspected minor, he was allegedly the driver of the boat.
