Six Algerian stowaways apprehended at Freeport

Six Algerian stowaways were yesterday apprehended by Malta Freeport security personnel while carrying out patrols at the terminal at about 5 a.m. The stowaways were noticed coming out of a container that had just been unloaded off the mv Nicola.

The security officers stopped the stowaways and called the immigration police. Following discussions with the ship's captain, the six men were taken back on board.

Steel cutters, a sledge hammer and chisels were found in the container from which the stowaways were seen leaving. "This shows these operations are clearly planned and there must be some sort of a ring somewhere," Freeport sources said.

In a statement following a similar incident earlier this month, the police had said the stowaways had been assisted by third parties familiar with the port in Algiers. They were hidden in the container before this was loaded onto the ship that eventually brought them to Malta.

Last year there were 20 cases of stowaways at the Freeport involving 81 people. Three of the cases involved the mv Nicola, the sources said.

This is the fourth case of stowaways at the Freeport this year and 18 people have been intercepted by Freeport security personnel.

"Freeport security personnel have a lot of limitations and receive no help from the authorities to catch the stowaways. The police are called and they do turn up but the people would have already been apprehended by then. A bit of recognition from the government to what the security personnel are doing would go a long way to boost their morale," the sources said.