Syrian remanded on illegal immigrant trafficking charge

A SYRIAN man was remanded for eight days by the Larnaca court yesterday on suspicion of trafficking in illegal immigrants.

The 23-year old man is suspected of helping 12 immigrants cross from the north and of charging them between $1,000 and $1,500 to do so. The 12 were part of a group of 47 that have crossed in recent days.

All had reached the north on a boat from Syria, they told police and from there, people they didn’t know helped them cross to the south after they paid their money.

A Greek Cypriot was also said to be involved in transporting the immigrants to Nicosia.

Yesterday Turkish Cypriot press reported that over 800 people has entered the north on the ferry service between Latakia and occupied Famagusta on 14 trips since the service began last October.

Only 200 of those passengers made the return trip, the papers said.

The Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister is due to arrive on the island tomorrow where the issue is likely to be discussed with the new President.

The previous government, despite intensive efforts failed to persuade Syria to put a stop to the ferry service.

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.