Group pretends to be Cameroon’s handball team and goes underground
Published: Wednesday, Jul 3rd 2024, 04:40
العودة إلى البث المباشر
A 45-year-old man posed as the leader of the Cameroon national handball team: He entered Switzerland at Zurich Airport in January 2024 with a group of 19 people - and his entire team subsequently went into hiding. The man will now stand trial at Bülach District Court on Wednesday.
The public prosecutor's office accuses the Cameroonian of qualified facilitation of unlawful entry into and transit through Switzerland. The man, who has been in prison since January, is to be sentenced to two years' imprisonment, which will be deferred in favor of a probationary period of two years. He is also to be expelled from the country for six years.
On arrival in Zurich, the 45-year-old had stated that he was on his way to the Africa Cup in Egypt with his team. However, he was not a handball player, according to the indictment. This was a pretext to obtain the necessary documents. "By providing false information, the accused enabled the 19 people to enter Switzerland without a visa.
17 alleged handball players then traveled on to France and went into hiding there. Two Cameroonians remained in Switzerland; they applied for asylum and then also went into hiding.
Meanwhile, the alleged leader of the national team has been arrested. He and the public prosecutor's office have agreed on a shortened trial. The man has confessed and agreed to the proposed sentence.
In addition to the conditional custodial sentence and expulsion from the country, this proposed sentence also includes the confiscation of 17 passports. These will be handed over to the cantonal police, who can use them for training purposes at their document verification office.
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