A woman and her son travelling to Lyon on Sunday ended up in police custody instead, after airport staff found them in possession of a false document and €45,000 in bundles of cash.

Saifeddine Oueslati, 31 and his 63-year-old mother, Najoua Ajmi Ep Oueslati, both Tunisian nationals living in Valletta, were planning to board a flight to Lyon, France, at around 3pm on December 18. 

But their travels were cut short after ground handlers at the boarding gate flagged a suspicious boarding pass. 

The photo on the woman’s identity card triggered suspicions that that document may have been false. 

Police were called in. 

The woman’s travelling companion stepped in, claiming that his mother knew nothing about the document which he himself had supplied. 

He also told the officers that he had several bundles of cash in his possession. 

The two were taken into custody, but meanwhile, the mother had to be admitted to the hospital for medical treatment. 

The cash was later checked and counted in the presence of the accused, officers from the Financial Crimes unit as well as a customs official. 

The amount totalled €45,000, well above the limit of €10,000 which was the maximum sum that a passenger could carry in terms of cash control regulations. 

Both mother and son were arraigned over the incident on Tuesday. 

The son was charged with failing to declare the excess cash, assisting his mother when travelling out of Malta in breach of immigration laws as well as recidivism. 

The mother was charged with possession and use of a false document, making a false declaration to the Principal Immigration Officer and breaching the Immigration Act.

Both registered an admission. 

In light of that early guilty plea and after hearing submissions by both parties, the court, presided over by Magistrate Lara Lanfranco, handed the woman a two-year jail term suspended for four years. 

As for her son, his lawyers informed the court that they were not requesting bail at that stage but intended to make submissions on punishment. 

The court deferred the case to January for judgment to be delivered once those submissions have been made. 

Inspectors Karl Roberts and Matthew Grech prosecuted. Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Gianluca Cappitta were defence counsel.