5 US-Bound Syrians Arrested in Honduras

Group had stolen Greek passports
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 19, 2015 4:04 AM CST
5 US-Bound Syrians Arrested in Honduras
A Syrian refugee holds her passport at the Turkish border on Sept. 4, 2013.   (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Five Syrians have been detained on charges of falsifying documents after trying to use stolen Greek passports to enter Honduras, a law enforcement spokesman for the Central American country says. He says the men were detained on Tuesday at the Tegucigalpa international airport on an alert from Interpol about the passports. He says the international organization followed the group from Syria to Lebanon and Turkey, then on to Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Honduras.

There was no indication that the men were suspected of anything except carrying stolen documents to the Central American nation. The police spokesman says that the men indicated they planned to travel to the United States. Honduras is a common route for migrants trying to reach the US, but it's unlikely the men would have been able to enter the US with the stolen documents. US Customs and Border Protection officers scan the passports of each traveler and have access to information about stolen passports. (A Syrian family was stranded in a Moscow airport for more than 50 days.)

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