A total of 59 migrants on two boats arrived offshore Cyprus in two separate cases over the past two days, the police said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, a boat with 46 ‘irregular immigrants’ was spotted off the coast of Cape Greco. The boat was intercepted by the coast guard and escorted to the port of Ayia Napa. The group – which included women and children – were then transferred to the Pournara reception centre for asylum seekers.
The migrants told police they had set off from Syria on Tuesday, having pooled their resources to buy the boat, each paying around $2,500.
From interviewing the migrants, police identified the boat’s pilot and arrested him.
On Thursday, at around 2.45pm police spotted another boat at approximately nine nautical miles off Cape Greco.
On board were 13 people – nine men, a women and three minors. They were likewise from Syria.
During initial processing, authorities found that one of the persons was on a stop list, and placed him under arrest.
The migrants were then transferred to the Pournara facility.
The arrestees will appear before Famagusta district court on Friday for their remand hearings.