There were 69 Bolivians on board the “Armonía” of the shipping company MSC whose Schengen visas were forged, reported the state TV broadcaster RTVE, the newspapers “La Vanguardia”, “El País” and other Spanish media, citing police circles. The shipping company did not initially respond to a request.
Bolivians were not allowed to disembark
The group of Bolivians, which also included families with children, embarked in Brazil for the journey to Barcelona, where the trip was to end. However, they are not allowed to leave the ship for shore leave like the other passengers. The cruise ship was actually supposed to continue its journey through the Mediterranean on Tuesday.
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Some relatives of the Bolivians on board living in Spain told media that the people had been defrauded. An agency in South America offered passage and visas online and charged up to $10,000 (9,230 euros) per person.
Planning to enter illegally?
This agency also canceled the return flight tickets that had been promised after the cruise ship left Brazil for Europe, “La Vanguardia” quoted relatives as saying. However, the police do not rule out that the Bolivians actually wanted to get to Spain illegally. It was initially unclear when the ship could continue its journey and what would become of the passengers without a Schengen visa.
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