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49 year old Camalote resident Norman Moore was today charged for "falsification of a permit" and "aiding in the commission of an immigration offence." This is after an immigration officer identified a fake visa at the PGIA on Monday.
A 23-year-old traveller from Montenegro arrived via COPA airlines and immigration officers flagged his Belizean visa because the standard security features were missing plus it was for one month only - when the standard visitors visa issued for that country lasts 6months. That led them to conclude it was fraudulent.
Further inquiries at the Belmopan Immigration Headquarters confirmed that the traveller, Lazar Krivokapic had previously applied for a Belizean visa but was denied.
Immigration personnel then checked the airport's exit area, where they found Moore waiting to pick up Krivokapic. When questioned, Moore produced a receipt for a prior visa application submitted for the Montenegrin, which had been officially denied.
So, that led police to charge Moore - who they believe was acting as his agent and who they believe provided the visa. Moore's attorney says he was just a courier.
OJ Elrington, Moore's Attorney
"Well the police essentially are saying that there was a national from - I can't remember the name of the country - produced a false visa, and on the premise of that false visa, they have charged my client with the two aforementioned offences. My client of course has maintained his innocence and he says that he cannot speak of the authenticity of the document - whether or not it is authentic, or whether or not it is not authentic because he was merely a courier, he had no idea of what exactly the documents were whatsoever."
Moore was able to post bail a little before 4 this evening after surrendering all his travel documents as ordered by the court.
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