A Serb, a Nigerian and an Albanian were charged separately and found guilty before a magistrate's court after having been caught in possession of false travel documents, as border checks are stepped up.

The so-called Schengen Agreement has been temporarily postponed in view of a number of high-level meetings connected with Malta's EU presidency, a decision which has in the process yielded a number of arrests as travellers with irregular documents fail to make it through security checkpoints.

Dejan Radocic, 39, a Serbian national, was accused of having been in possession of a false Slovenian passport when arrested earlier this morning. The court was informed that the accused had intended to leave the island and had already booked an outbound flight.

Oba Justice Uche, 30, a Nigerian, had a valid Italian passport but a false travel visa which he had allegedly resorted to in order to travel to Malta from Catania since his Italian residence permit had expired.

Koroni Leonard, 45, an Albanian who had entered Malta with false Italian documents, was arrested at Luqa airport after seeking to travel to Dublin with a false visa. The court was informed that the man would be kept at a detention centre until necessary arrangements for his deportation were finalised.

Each of the men was declared guilty by the court, presided by magistrate Neville Camilleri, and condemned each to a jail term of 18 months suspended for 3 years.