Tripoli, 23 September:
A visa forging operation has been broken up by police in Cairo, and two of its members arrested.
Egyptian authorities . . .[restrict]had been monitoring the operation for a week before making the swoop, which took place on Friday in Cairo’s Gamel district.
It is understood that visas were being sold to people wishing to travel to Libya for as much as 10,000 Egyptian pounds (2,000 Libyan dinars), and that fake graduation certificates were also on offer.
The arrested men are said to be the owner of the operation and one of his assistants.
Libya is a popular destination for Egyptians and others seeking work and as a transit destination en-route to Europe.
Several thousand migrants are reckoned to make the perilous voyage from Libya to destinations such as Italy and Malta annually, and more than 170 migrants have perished in the Mediterranean this year alone. [/restrict]
