Stowaways found on ship at Freeport

Fourteen stowaways are being held on a ship at the Malta Freeport after arriving from Morocco yesterday afternoon.

The stowaways were discovered by the crew of the mv Cimel after noises were heard coming from two sealed containers aboard the ship.

Five stowaways were found in one container and nine in the other. They are all men in their early 20s.

The Cimel, which had sailed from the port of Oran, came to Malta to unload 200 empty containers and is scheduled to leave tomorrow.

The ship's agents informed the freeport about the stowaways and the freeport's security manager in turn informed the security police. The stowaways are now being kept on board the vessel and will be sent back with it.

Freeport sources said the number of stowaways found at the freeport had declined over the past months but the phenomenon appeared to be rearing its head again.

Last month, freeport security officers were instrumental in apprehending three who jumped into the sea from a ship at berth and then swam ashore. Four stowaways had been caught by the crew of the same ship before it made port.

In a separate incident, six illegal immigrants escaped on Wednesday evening when they were being transferred from the police headquarters in Floriana to the accommodation complex in Hal-Far.

Five were rounded up shortly afterwards and the sixth is still on the run, the police said.