Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
A police investigator has charged 38-year-old Syrian Abdul T. and 32-year-old Slovak Veronika T. with people smuggling. They face up to eight years in prison if convicted, the TASR newswire reported.
The couple are suspected of obtaining at least 30 passports from Syrian citizens in Damascus, said Police Corps Presidium spokesperson Denisa Baloghová.
“Upon arriving in Slovakia, the couple were supposed to obtain visa stamps that would allow Syrians to apply for temporary residence,” Baloghová said, as quoted by TASR. “The modified passports were supposed to be sent back so that the Syrians could enter Slovakia and the European Union.”
The couple are alleged to have received at least €30,000 for procuring the modified passports. Evidence has been collected from the couple’s house in eastern Slovakia. The Slovak Embassy in Lebanon assisted the Slovak investigators, TASR reported.
