Cancun, Q.R. — The Immigration and Border Service (SEF) has announced the detainment of 12 bound for Cancun. The government agency of Lisbon, Portugal made the arrests at the airport after they were found trying to board a plane with fake identification.
Elements of the Servicio Extranjero y Fronterizo (SEF) arrested the 11 men and one woman on Sunday inside the Libson airport. The 12 foreign citizens are reported to be between the ages of 21 and 49. They were found by border control when leaving national territory to take a flight to Cancun.
The SEF says they could have been trying to enter the United States illegally through the border with Mexico.
“The possibility of reaching and crossing the US border from Mexico has led many citizens, mostly Asian nationalities, to try to follow this route supported by organized illegal immigration networks,” their statement said, highlighting the collaboration “with the Mexican, American and European authorities” in the dismantling of these organized networks that supply fake documents.
According to the SEF, since the beginning of 2022, 98 foreign citizens with false documents have been detained trying to travel to Mexico. The foreign citizens caught with false identification were from Japan, Denmark, Spain, Greece and Italy.
The agency said that 10 of the 12 detained at the airport Sunday were found to be in Portugal illegally.
