Two Maldivians arrested for smuggling Syrians

Two Maldivians including an immigration officer have been arrested for helping nine Syrians leave the Maldives on fake passports two days after they entered the country, local media reported on Friday.

A 25-year-old immigration officer and a former colleague aged 29 were arrested for helping the Syrians, who were thought to be asylum seekers, leave the country posing as Bulgarians, in exchange for cash.

The Syrians, who include three under-18s, were thought to be trying to reach Europe.

They were apprehended in Qatar after leaving the Maldives and have been sent back to Turkey, from where they started out, police superintendent Hussain Rasheed told reporters.

The nine Syrians entered the Maldives on March 27 with valid Syrian passports. Any nationality can secure a tourist visa on arrival.

The group left the country on forged Bulgarian passports two days later on March 29, with the help of the two Maldivians. They were caught with the fake documents at Doha International Airport.

Police investigated the case at the request of the immigration department, and found that the two Maldivians received a large sum of money for the illegal activity, said Rasheed.

Qatari intelligence shared vital information with Maldivian counterparts on the case, including access to the false passports, said Department of Immigration information officer Hassan Khaleel.

The nine Syrians were initially sent back to the Maldives under International Civil Aviation Organization regulations, which say fake passport holders must be sent back to their last port of departure.

The group have now been flown back to Turkey after being questioned by police, said Superintendent Rasheed.

Rasheed said police did "not see the Syrians as dangerous," and that they were believed to be refugees fleeing from the country's civil war. Endi