He thought that, after 16 long years, his conviction for circulating counterfeit currency would be forgotten by a 52-year-old (now) Nigerian man who had managed to flee to Turkey, but decided to return to Greece. He did not know, however, that the warrant for his arrest was in force.

The 52-year-old arrived on the liner from Alikarnassos to Kos, but a check on his details revealed that he was subject to an exit ban from the country and a warrant for his arrest and temporary detention for the counterfeiting case that had been tried by the Athens Tripartite Appellate Court of Criminal Appeals in May 2008. The foreigner was arrested and referred to the prosecutor of Kos Petty Court, who ordered the warrant to be executed and transferred to a detention facility.