Man jailed for using someone else's passport

A Sudanese man has been jailed for nine months after attempting to leave Malta on another man’s passport.

Emmanuel David Odel tried to board the Malta-Sicily catamaran, having bought his ticket early this morning. He was arrested at 5:30am after Immigration officials noticed that the passport he was using was not his but belonged to another immigrant who had left for Romania.

The court informed Odel that he would face prison if he pleaded guilty as he had a previous conviction for causing damage at the Marsa Open Centre during the January 2020 riots there.

However, the man pleaded guilty just the same, admitting to using another person’s passport, making a false declaration to the authorities, giving false information to the principal immigration officer and recidivism.

The court jailed Odel for nine months as a result.

Inspector Lara Butters prosecuted. Lawyer Daniel Attard was legal aid counsel.