Albanian to be repatriated for using fake ID document

A court has ordered the immediate repatriation of an Albanian man who tried to leave Malta using a fake ID card

The man's actual Albanian passport was discovered in his checked-in luggage
The man's actual Albanian passport was discovered in his checked-in luggage

A court has ordered the immediate repatriation of an Albanian man who tried to leave Malta using a fake ID card.

Eryon Sala, 28, of Tirana, Albania, appeared before magistrate Francesco Depasquale this morning, accused of possessing and knowingly making use of a forged identity document at the airport.

Inspector Darren Buhagiar explained that the man had been arrested yesterday as he tried to board a flight to Dublin. His actual Albanian passport was discovered in his checked-in luggage.

Sala had told police that he intended to seek employment in Dublin and that he had bought the fake Romanian ID for €400 from unidentified persons in Albania.

Lawyer Noel Bartolo entered a plea of guilty on behalf of the accused.

The court said that it understood that the man was due to be removed and so imposed a suspended sentence, in order not to impede his removal.

Sala was condemned to imprisonment for a period of one year, which was suspended for four years. The court ordered the man's immediate removal from the Maltese islands and return to Albania.