Two Iraqi nationals held at Kraków-Balice airport after presenting altered French passports

In brief

• Border guards at Kraków-Balice airport detained two Iraqi citizens on 31 October who presented altered French passports.
• The passports carried other people's personal data and were listed as lost.
• Both suspects admitted the offence, and a court placed them in a guarded foreigners' centre.

Detention at the border

The incident took place on Saturday, 31 October, at the air border crossing in Kraków-Balice. A scheduled flight from Istanbul had just landed, and at passport control on the entry side two Iraqi citizens presented French passports. Officers of the Border Guard post in Kraków-Balice found the documents suspicious. A detailed check showed that the passports had been altered and carried personal data belonging to other people. Both documents were also listed in databases as lost, and they were seized as evidence (Kraków-Balice: Dwoje obywateli Iraku z przerobionymi francuskimi paszportami na lotnisku – Komenda Główna Straży Granicznej) (Pasażerowie sfałszowali paszporty. Wpadli na lotnisku w Balicach – Onet).

Charges and court decision

The two men were detained on suspicion of attempting to cross the state border unlawfully, using deception through altered documents. Criminal proceedings were opened. Both admitted the acts they were accused of. A court decided to place them in a guarded centre for foreigners.

Border guard response

The Border Guard described the case as a routine example of its checks at the airport, where documents are compared against registers of lost and stolen travel papers. The agency has not reported any further suspects or links to other cases in the material available (Kraków-Balice. Pochodzą z Iraku, przylecieli ze Stambułu, mieli francuskie paszporty – TVN24).