Man arrested at airport using ‘altered’ passport flagged by Interpol

TDT | Manama
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Flagged by Interpol but waved through the Causeway, a 26-year-old man fleeing war tried to fly to Europe on a forged passport.

He made it as far as Bahrain International Airport, where he was caught and later jailed for a year.

He had slipped into Bahrain the day before using the same doctored passport—genuine in origin but altered to carry another man’s name and details.

The travel document had been arranged by an unnamed contact in his home country, who provided it for a fee.

Visa

At the border, the man handed the passport to an unsuspecting officer.

The details were entered into the system and accepted without question, and a visa was issued.

It might have ended there, but the following morning, he returned to the airport, passport in hand, hoping to continue on to Europe.

This time, the system raised the alarm, and the passport had been flagged by Interpol.

He was taken aside.

The officer grew suspicious when the man rattled off every detail in the passport from memory, including numbers—unusual behavior in most cases.

He was asked for proof of European citizenship or residency, but he had none.

His signature did not match the one in the passport.

Differences

A glance at the photograph showed clear differences. Confronted, he admitted to the fraud.

He was arrested, tried, and sentenced to one year in prison.

The court ordered his deportation once the sentence is served and ruled that the passport be seized.