Judge: Port security weakness ‘glaringly obvious’ after munitions smuggler jailed

A JUDGE has called for an investigation into security at Gazimağusa port after a convicted criminal used it to enter the TRNC illegally while carrying a smuggled gun, ammunition and 80 pepper gas canisters.

The security weakness at the port was “glaringly obvious” and those responsible should be investigated, Judge Temay Sağer said in sentencing Yasin Usta (above) to two years in prison at Gazimağusa Assizes Court on Wednesday.

The judge, who found Usta guilty of smuggling and illegal possession of a gun, also ordered that a copy of the court verdict be sent to the police general directorate.

The court heard that Usta had been sentenced to two years in prison for burglaries in the villages of Turunçlu, Kurudere and Demirhan last year but released on parole and then deported on March 6, 2017.

Three months later, however, he was “able to re-enter the TRNC illegally with ease” through Gazimağusa port with the gun, ammunition and pepper gas.

Nicknamed “Masked Yasin” for his habit of wearing a mask, he had sparked fear in Nergisli, where he used to be a shepherd, after being spotted last summer riding a motorbike around the village. Said to have a “fondness for guns”, he posted a picture of himself online with the mask and holding a gun.

He was arrested after police, acting on a tip-off, tracked him down to a mountain cave hideout.