Nigerian footballer Agali arrested in Amsterdam
AFP Global Edition | 2010-01-04 17:10:25
<div><p>Victor Agali, a Nigerian-born footballer for Greek club Levadiakos, has been arrested at Schiphol airport near Amsterdam for carrying two fake passports, Dutch military police said on Monday.</p><p>"At passport control, on December 27, he (Agali) was found to be in possession of a fake passport," said gendarmerie spokesman Robert van Kapel.</p><p>Upon further investigation, the 31-year-old striker in transit at Schiphol on a voyage from Lagos to Athens, turned out to have two sets of fake travel documents, said Van Kapel.</p><p>"In the one, the page with his personal particulars has been modified, in the other it was the visa," he said.</p><p>A panel of judges will decide on Wednesday whether or not to extend the footballer's provisional detention, said a spokeswoman for the Haarlem district court.</p><p>Agali, who had been returning to Greece after visiting his wife and child in Nigeria, pleads innocence, his lawyer Bob Kaarls told AFP.</p><p>"The (first) passport judged problematic by officials was sent to him in this form by post by Nigerian authorities in 2007," he said.</p><p>Dutch authorities claimed that the Schengen visa contained in the second document, issued by Cyprus, did not meet the requisite standards, said Kaarls.</p><p>Kaarls said Levadiakos has indicated its willingness to pay the bail to secure their striker's freedom.</p><p>Agali has played for French teams including Marseille (1996-97), Toulon (1997-98) and Nice (2004-2005), as well as Germany's Schalke 04 (2001-2004) and Hansa Rostock (1998-2001, 2007-2008)..</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=66271327&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>
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