A foreigner, long-settled in Malta with wife and family, was remanded in custody following his arrest at the airport on Thursday, when he was found in possession of false travel documents. 

Mohammed Muzammil, a 35-year old Ghanaian national living at Msida, pleaded not guilty to forgery or knowingly possessing three false Portuguese passports, attempting to use them at the Malta International Airport, as well as relapsing. 

The man, who has been employed and living in Malta since 2006, together with his wife and son, had apparently been heading to Italy after being told that he stood a better chance of obtaining asylum status by submitting an application there. 

However, his plans were thwarted after he ended up under police custody. 

On Friday, the man was escorted to court where his lawyers made a request for bail, stressing the accused’s firm family ties on the island. 

Moreover, the Court was told that the man had cooperated with investigators, saying that he had paid a lot of money for the documents. 

However, following objections by the prosecution, the court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, turned down the request in view of the nature of the charges and the fact that the accused was allegedly a recidivist. 

Inspector Darren Buhagiar prosecuted.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel.