Immigration had cleared men using stolen passports, confirms DG

The two men who used stolen passports to board MH370 was successfully cleared by immigration officers, despite them supposedly using false identities.

Briefing reporters in KLIA this afternoon, the department's director-general Aloyah Mamat said that the department has also formed a team to investigate the two men.

The investigating team was formed following the discovery that the two men had falsely used the identities of one Austrian Christian Kozel and Italian Luigi Maraldi. Both claimed that they did not board the plane.

Kozel and Maraldi had previously reported their passports stolen in Thailand, and said that they were not on the plane. The fact that their passports were used was confirmed by Interpol, said Aloyah.

Both “Kozel” and “Maraldi”, said Aloyah, arrived at KLIA on Feb 28, 2014, Friday, at 2028 hours and 2031 respectively. Both presented themselves at the immigration counters to be checked.

“The immigration officer then processed immigration clearance based on our SOP by verifying that the bearer and the image and biodata were matched.

“Additionally the immigration officer also posed relevant question to the subject including the reason for travelling into visiting the country,” said Aloyah of both men.

She said “once the officer was satisfied with the immigration inspection”, both were issued social visit valid passes, valid 90 days from 28 Feb to 28 May 2014.

Aloyah said that both men was also subjected to immigration counter checks on March 7, both around 8.30pm before they boarded MH370 to depart KLIA.

Earlier, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed that the man using Kozel's identify was a 19-year-old Iranian who wanted to seek asylum in Germany.

The youth, Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, was "not likely" a member of a terrorist group, said Khalid.