A 42-year-old Syrian man who was arrested in September with 34 passports and identity cards has been sentenced today to 30 months in prison. The court in Den Bosch considers the preparation of people smuggling proven.
The Syrian was arrested on September 8 of this year at Eindhoven Airport. He had flown from Greece to Luxembourg the day before and when he wanted to fly back to Greece, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee found Greek passports, residence cards and an Egyptian passport in his backpack. Nine passports were in the name of children with a Syrian background.
An investigation revealed that the man had flown to and from Athens nearly 30 times in ten months. Travel documents were found on his phone, some with photos. The judge ruled that the documents were intended for people smuggling and therefore imposed a prison sentence of 30 months. That is equivalent to the demand of the public prosecutor, according to Broadcasting Brabant.
–
