A total of 218 border guards trained in combating irregular migration, drug trafficking and illicit trade are getting ready to undertake their duties, Philenews reports.
Specifically, the training will be completed on May 19 and they will then be sent to Police Departments all across Cyprus except Limassol’s district.
The newly-hired special sergeants who have been hired through fast-track procedures will report on duty on the Greek Cypriot side of the UN buffer zone.
They will serve in various communities that border the buffer zone on the island which is divided since a 1974 invasion by Turkey.
The special agents have been trained across disciplines and agencies including Migration and Special Operations.
The new measure, which was launched by the previous administration, became contentious as regular officers are not authorized to carry out migration inspections.
The border guards, who will be armed, will also be authorized to carry out immigration inspections of irregular migrants and asylum seekers, arrest human smugglers, escort individuals to migration centres, as well as deport migrants.
