Law enforcement agencies in Cyprus, Latvia and Portugal have made 15 arrests involving dozens of alleged marriages of convenience on the eastern Mediterranean island, police in Cyprus said on Wednesday.
The suspects arrested in Cyprus have been detained by court order until Feb. 7 © Mena Today
Law enforcement agencies in Cyprus, Latvia and Portugal have made 15 arrests involving dozens of alleged marriages of convenience on the eastern Mediterranean island, police in Cyprus said on Wednesday.
The operation by EU enforcement agency Europol headed by Cyprus police arrested 13 people in Cyprus on Jan. 29, and two arrests in Portugal and Latvia on the same day.
"Investigations revealed evidence against a number of people alleged to be involved in 133 sham marriages in Cyprus, involving women from Portugal and Latvia, and men from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh," Cyprus police said in a statement.
Authorities said they were investigating conspiracy to commit a crime, aiding and abetting illegal entry, forgery, fraudulent matrimony and forcing victims into fake marriages to get EU residency permits.
The suspects arrested in Cyprus have been detained by court order until Feb. 7, while Cypriot authorities have started an extradition process against the other two suspects in Latvia and Portugal, Cyprus police said.
Reporting By Michele Kambas
Israel's military will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, defence minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, the first time Israel has clearly spelled out its intent to seize swathes of territory that make up nearly a tenth of Lebanon.
Apparent U.S.-Israeli airstrikes hit a headquarters of Iraq's umbrella group for Iran-backed Shi'ite militia and a residence belonging to its leader on Tuesday, an escalation of U.S.-Israeli strikes on one of Tehran's main regional allies.
Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed the bombing of the Islamic Republic's power plants and other energy infrastructure because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.