Three men were handed effective prison sentences on Saturday after admitting to trying to leave the country using forged passports.  

Henok Amanuel, 19, of Eritrea, Hanif Rahman Nayan, 20, of Bangladsh, and Mosiur Bepari, 22, also a Bangladeshi national were all handed nine month effective prison terms after they plead guilty to the charges. 

Before sentencing, presiding magistrate Leonard Caruana urged all three men to consider their pleas.  

Prosecuting Inspector Hubert Gerada told the court that the men had all been caught trying to catch a flight to Bologna on the morning of Friday, June 11.  

They were found in possession of falsified German passports and residency documents. 

Inspector Gerada said the men had all only been released from detention a few months ago and had immediately set about trying to get their hands on illegal documents.  

They had shown no intention of trying to integrate into Maltese society.  

The magistrate agreed with the assessment, handing down an effective prison sentence which is longer than the minimum six months.  

The three men were all represented by a legal aid lawyer after declaring they did not have the means to pay for counsel.