Three Syrian nationals have been intercepted at Taoyuan International Airport for carrying forged passports, the National Immigration Agency’s (NIA) Border Affairs Corps said yesterday.
The three passengers, two men and one woman arrived on Friday at Taoyuan International Airport on a Cebu Pacific Air flight from Manila.
They were detained after customs officials detected they were posing as Greek nationals, and were using forged Greek passports, the NIA Border Affairs Corps said.
Following questioning, the three passengers produced their original Syrian passports and told the investigators that they were Kurdish people from Syria, and that they had used fake Greek passports to escape warfare and terrorism by the Islamic State fighters in their home region, NIA officials said.
The passengers told investigators that they bought the forged Greek passports for US$15,000 each from a syndicate in a Middle Eastern nation.
Using air tickets to the Philippines, their plan was to transit through Taiwan on a 10-day stay, then to go on to a European nation as their final destination, the investigators said.
They allegedly told investigators that obtaining a Taiwanese customs stamp approving a short-term stay, would improve their odds of passing European customs officials by making their reason for entry appear more authentic.
NIA officials said that on instruction from the Taoyuan Prosecutors’ Office, the passengers were deported later yesterday on the Cebu Pacific Air return flight back to Manila, Philippines, in accordance with international aviation conventions.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS