Famagusta district court on Friday sentenced a 22 year old man to two years in prison after finding him guilty of smuggling irregular migrants to Cyprus in March, police said.
It follows the arrival by boat of 101 irregular migrants from Syria to Protaras on March 3. They were brought to shore by the coastguard and taken to the temporary reception centre for asylum seekers in Kokkinotrimithia.
On the same night, Famagusta police officers investigating the case arrested the 22 year old as being the person who had steered the boat and he was charged with illegal smuggling of migrants and assisting third country nationals enter the Republic, police added.
22 year old arrested for assisting illegal entry after arrival of 101 Syrians
The case was taken to the district court which found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison.
All 101 passengers on the boat — 13 women, 43 underage children of whom nine unaccompanied and 45 men, are Syrians from Idlib and Aleppo and had paid approximately 4000 euro each for the passage.
The 15 metre boat had set sail from Mersin, Turkey.
