A man from Ghana who arrived on a flight from Rome and was found with false passports and residence permits was yesterday deported after being given a suspended jail term.

Factory worker Opoku Emos Mensah, 32, admitted to being in possession of eight false documents when he arrived in Malta on Christmas Eve. Mr Mensah had been stopped by airport officials after the alarm was raised by the Drugs Squad which noted Mr Mensah acting suspiciously.

After registering a guilty plea, defence lawyer Mark Busuttil told the court that his client had fully cooperated with the police and would be leaving the island by the afternoon.

Police Inspector Nezren Grixti spoke positively about Mr Mensah, pointing out that he had no problems in dealing with him, reiterating Dr Busuttil's comments and that the accused had admitted to the crime straight away during the investigations. After taking into consideration that both the prosecution and the defence agreed on the punishment, Magistrate Anthony Vella imposed a two-year jail term suspended for four.

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