Filenews 7 September 2023
A total of 240 persons were registered at the "Agios Nikolaos" apartment complex in Chloraka, based on the 359 checks carried out between August 22 and today, September 7, as stated by the Deputy Commander of Operations and Spokesman of the Aliens and Immigration Service Petros Zeniou.
In statements, Zeniou said that in recent days no migrants have been detected in the "Agios Nikolaos" apartment complex in Chloraka. He said that during the checks out of 240, only two people who were illegally on the territory of the Republic were identified, arrested and the procedures of their deportation are under way.
Of the 240 people, 238 were legal asylum seekers or holders of subsidiary protection status, he said. Checks in the area of Chloraka continue daily and suspicious foreigners are checked to determine whether they are illegal residents, he noted.
He added that the general framework of the duties of the Police Service and the Aliens and Immigration Service is to identify illegal residents in the territory of the Republic.
In 2023, he said, 1520 foreigners who are staying illegally in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus have been identified and arrested.
Of the 1520, he said, the forced return to their countries of origin has been achieved for 1,381, while 5004 cases left the Republic with a return decision without being arrested.
Regarding the arrivals of illegal immigrants for the year 2023 until August 31, he said that they number 6717 persons, while in the corresponding period of 2022 until August 31 11.246.
As for arrivals from the occupied areas in 2022 until August 31, they were 10.874, this year in the corresponding period they decreased by about 50% and are 5.511. Zeniou said the police are targeting five pillars, one of which concerns the identification and arrest of traffickers in order to bring them to justice. In 2023, 71 cases of smuggling of irregular migrants have been dealt with to date. 96 smugglers of irregular migrants have been arrested in 2023.
For 2022, 85 cases were examined throughout the year in which 135 traffickers were arrested.
The second pillar, he noted, concerns illegal employment, which is one of the most important factors attracting immigrants to the Republic. Indicatively, he said that in 2022, a total of 100 cases were examined, in the context of which 101 persons were arrested for illegally employing 166 foreigners.
In 2023 until August 31, cases of detection of illegal employers increased to 258, within which 257 employers were detected illegally employing 432 foreigners.
Another goal of his Service, Zeniou said, is the surveillance of the Green Line, which patrols are carried out with the creation of the Green Line subdivision. He said that along the green line, several cases have been identified concerning various incidents, including the identification of suspicious persons, illegal immigrants, illegal transportation of various products from the occupied areas to the free areas and the detection of weapons in close proximity to the green line and others.
Finally, the fifth pillar concerns the expulsions and removal of migrants residing illegally in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus to their countries of origin. Specifically, in the year 2023 until August 31, the repatriation of 6,385 migrants residing illegally in the territory of the Republic has been achieved, while for the same period of 2022 this number concerned 3,985 cases. Meanwhile, the forced return of migrants includes the forced removal of 176 migrants with the participation of Cypriot police in joint forced return flights of Frontex migrants, he concluded.
CNA
