Albanian teenager convicted of using false document

An Albanian teenager who has been living on the streets in Malta was handed a suspended jail sentence today after he was caught trying to leave for Britain using a false document.

The boy, aged 16, admitted in court to falsfying the travel document which he had acquired in Italy.

The court heard how he had travelled from Albania to Italy as a tourist. There he met a Moroccan man who told him that he could go to the UK using an Italian ID card. An ID card was therefore forged, with the picture being replaced.

The Albanian then came to Malta, because it was cheaper for him to go to the UK from here. He was arrested when trying to board a Ryanair flight to Luton.

The boy was handed a nine-month suspended jail term and will be sent back to Albania.