Three sent to prison for illegal residency

A student who was found living in north Cyprus without a resident permit for more than 2 years has been sent to prison for a period of 29 days.

The individual, IW, a Nigerian who was arrested early Wednesday morning on Atatürk Street in Gönyeli was brought to court on the same day.

Police said an immigration check on the suspect's passport, determined that he had been living in the north of Cyprus without a residence permit for a total of 831 days, since April 15, 2022.

Stating that the suspect came to the country on February 14, 2022 with a 60-day student permit but did not enroll in a university, the police stated that the necessary investigation was carried out and that he would continue to commit the same crime if he was released, and requested that he be sent to prison.

The judge ordered the suspect to be detained in prison for a period not exceeding 20 days in order to ensure his presence at his trials.

Also, two other individuals, TT and İA, who are both Pakistani nationals wee arrested on Sunday for living illegally in Northern Cyprus.

Police said they were detected at the Lefkosia City Center by a team of the Crime Prevention Branch teams patrolling the area.

During immigration check, it was determined that TT have been without a residence permit for 563 days since June 6, 2023, and İA for 216 days since December 17, 2023.

They told the police that they worked in the country and gave the names of their workplaces. 

The judge ordered the suspects to be detained in prison for a period not exceeding 20 days in order to ensure their attendance at their trials.