2 Iranians with fake Israeli passports nabbed in Kenya

Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — Kenyan authorities reportedly arrested two Iranians in Nairobi who tried to reach Israel using fake Israeli passports.

The two men, both in their early 20s, were arrested several days ago, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.

The passports were forgeries based stolen Israeli passports. The news site revealed only the first names of the Israeli identities, Adi and Avshalom.

The two men were scheduled to board a Brussels Airlines flight to the Belgian capital, and fly from there to Ben Gurion Airport, according to the report.

An Israeli official told the daily that Israeli passports were relatively easy to forge because many Israelis have not yet switched to biometric passports, which store on chips unique information including facial recognition and fingerprints.

It is not yet known what the Iranians in custody were planning to do in Israel, Yedioth Ahoronoth reported.