Stowaways sentenced to prison

Two Sudanese men have been jailed after hiding inside a shipping container in the hope of reaching Italy.

Mohamed Ishaq Adam Yakub and Osman Ibrahim Mehamed, 27 and 22 years old respectively, were arrested yesterday afternoon at Laboratory Wharf in Paola. The men had no identification documents and told the police that they had hid inside the container, hoping to smuggle themselves into Italy.

They were charged with being stowaways and failing to provide information to the immigration authorities.

The men, represented by legal aid lawyer Benjamin Valenzia, and assisted by an Arabic language interpreter, pleaded guilty to the charges.

Yakub was sentenced to nine months in prison, whilst Mehamed was jailed for six months.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella presided. Inspector Karl Roberts prosecuted.