A man from Mali was today jailed for two years and seven months after he pleaded guilty to trying to flee Malta with a fake Italian passport.

The court heard how he had committed precisely the same crime in November 2012, when he was caught trying to leave the island with another fake passport.

Then, he pleaded guilty and was jailed for two years suspended for four years.

Before Magistrate Audrey Demicoli, Yacouba Doumbia, 31, pleaded guilty to trying to leave Malta on Wednesday with a fake Italian passport and a fake Italian residency permit. He claimed he paid €2,000 for the documents.

The court jailed him for seven months and brought into effect the suspended jail term imposed on him in 2012.

Police Inspector Victor Aquilina prosecuted while lawyer Anthony Cutajar appeared for the man.

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