Pakistani refugees busted with fake passports at CJIA
Arshad Mughal
Arshad Mughal

TWO Pakistani refugees appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Thursday, charged with having forged passports in their possession. The men were recently nabbed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri.

Arshad Mughal, 40, and Ashad Mughal, 30, were charged separately with the offence, which alleged that on March 21, 2017 at CJIA, they uttered to airline representative attached to Fly Jamaica, Collin Lovell, fake passports bearing their photographs, knowing that they were false. They were unrepresented and pleaded guilty to the charges.
They were fined GY$100,000 with an alternative of serving eight weeks in prison. The magistrate also ordered that the passports be confiscated and that the duo be escorted to the nearest port of exit upon payment of the fine or upon serving the default prison term. The men claim that they were granted refugee status in Brazil.
Arshad Mughal presented an Italian passport under the pretext that it was issued to him by the Government of Italy, while Ashad Mughal presented a Spanish passport, under the pretext that it was issued to him by the Government of Spain. Prosecutor Arvin Moore told the court that the men were outgoing passengers to Canada and that they were detected by Canadian Customs Border Protection at the CJIA, after it was found that the passports were found to be lost or stolen.
Checks made to Italy via INTERPOL revealed that the real owner of the passport is Marian Denallo of Rome, while checks are still being made with Spain to ascertain the original owner of that passport. According to the prosecutor, the duo entered Guyana on February 28, 2017, via Lethem from Brazil, where they were granted a one-month stay in the country.
Arshad Mughal told the court that he had bought the passport in Dubai for $US9,500.

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