Over 30,000 illegal immigrants in Cyprus

THERE are over 30,000 illegal immigrants in Cyprus, Police Chief Tassos Panayiotou said yesterday.

Police have arrested 1,550 so far this year – most have already been deported – compared to 3,800 arrests made in the whole of 2003.

Panayiotou was speaking at a news conference where he announced Cyprus’ participation in Operation Nettuno for the control of illegal immigration in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The operation started on May 3 on an Italian initiative with the participation of seven EU countries and Europol.

It covered the south, southwest, southeast and northwest sea area and is expected to finish on May 15.

The head of the Italian Parliament’s Shengen, Europol and immigration committee, Alberto di Luca, said Cyprus played a major role in the EU, not only from a political but also a geographical point of view since it was the gateway to the Middle East.

Di Luca stressed that effective and close co-operation of all member states was needed to fight illegal immigration.

Panayiotou said Italy, France, Britain and Greece had provided aircraft and sea vessels for the needs of the operation, while Spain, Germany, Malta and Europol had participated by sending observers to Cyprus.

Cyprus took part with a helicopter and an aeroplane, which were manned by 20 officers.
Nettuno was co-ordinated from an operations room set up at the Marine and Port Police HQ in the old port of Limassol.

The police chief told reporters that parts of the coastal surveillance radar procured by the Republic were in operation during Nettuno, adding that the system would be in full operation before the end of the month.

He added that two patrol boats bought from Italy were expected on the island in around 10 days.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.