MOGADISHU (Kaab TV) – Egyptian immigration authorities briefly detained the Mayor of Mogadishu, Mohamed Ahmed Amir, and three members of his office at Cairo Airport on Friday due to a forged visa used to enter the country.
Mayor Amir was in transit from Mogadishu to Saudi Arabia.
Despite flying from Mogadishu Airport, the authenticity of his visa was not checked by local authorities, a Somalia Embassy officer told Kaab TV.
Cairo Airport officials also confirmed that several members of the mayor’s team had no visas at all.
As a result, Mayor Amir and three members of his staff were held for six hours at the airport.
The Somali Embassy in Cairo intervened, leading to the release of the mayor and his staff.
A source at the embassy indicated that Mayor Amir had been issued a fake visa by a fraudulent travel agency in Mogadishu.
Somalia has a known issue with scammers who deceive travelers with false visas and even foreign passports in exchange for payment.
In the past, government officials, including immigration officers, have been implicated in these scams.
In March, the new immigration head in Mogadishu announced the dismissal of several immigration and police officers found to be part of an organized human trafficking network that sent people through the Libyan Sahara, where many victims were held for ransom.
Furthermore, in November last year, Ireland arrested a Somali diplomat based in Saudi Arabia who was involved in human trafficking despite working at the Somali embassy in Riyadh.
He was arrested upon arrival at Dublin airport in November.