Turkish Cypriot woman arrested for human trafficking

A woman who trafficked 3 irregular immigrants from Larnaca, south Cyprus to North Cyprus and then to Turkiye has been arrested by Turkish Cypriot police.

The woman named only as PA, reportedly took 3 irregular immigrants from Larnaca, hid them in her vehicle and transferred them to the north of Cyprus, and then made a deal with a truck driver at the Port of Kyrenia and helped them go to Turkey by ship.

The trafficked irregular migrants who went to Turkey by ship were detected there and returned to Cyprus by ship.The woman was taken to court on Wednesday on charges of "Human Smuggling".

Police told the court that the suspect took people named TA, AD, JMAS residing in the south of Cyprus from Larnaca and hid them in her car on 14 July and passed them through the Beyarmudu crossing point.

They were taken to the Tourism Port by the suspect on the same day and hide around a hotel.

The 3 irregular immigrants then boarded the vessel called “Via Mare” and exited illegally from the north of Cyprus with the help of a lorry driver who could not be detected despite all the investigations from Girne Tourism Port.

Police stated that irregular migrants were identified in Turkey, arrested and extradited back to Cyprus.

The suspect named PA, who was found to be related to the incident was identified and arrested as a result of the large-scale investigation carried out on the issue. Camera footage of the irregular immigrants who have been detained in Cyprus since 15 July, was detected on a road in Kyrenia during an operation.

The suspect was identified and arrested during a search of the vehicle they were in. Two pieces of black cloth used for hiding were detected and that they were taken as evidence together with the vehicle in question.

Police announced that they are looking for two more people in connection with the incident.

The police stated that the investigation carried out against the suspect, who was subsequently arrested, was not completed yet and that two people were being sought, and demanded an additional two days of detention.

Evaluating the testimony given in court, the judge ordered that the three irregular migrants be sent to prison for a period not exceeding 2 months and that the suspect named PA be kept in detention for 2 days for investigation purposes.