MONTEGO BAY, St James — An attempt to jet off to Europe ended in a legal showdown for a Dominican man at Sangster International Airport here.

Jose Manuel Dias Montilla found himself in the St James Parish Court last Wednesday, facing fines and deportation after pleading guilty to using a fraudulent travel document.

Before Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton, he admitted to uttering a forged document.

According to court documents, around 4:00 pm on January 24, Dias Montilla tried to leave Jamaica for Germany carrying a valid Dominican Republic passport — but tucked inside was a fake Spanish resident permit. Alerted by suspicion, immigration officials, with the help of a Spanish-speaking officer, detained him and informed him of the offence.

Two days later, on January 26, with a Spanish interpreter, Dias Montilla explained under caution that he had paid 250 Dominican pesos to a travel company in his home country for the fake permit and was expected to pay an additional 200,000 pesos upon arrival in Spain. He said the permit was created using a copy of his Dominican passport and that the process took 11 days.

He also confirmed that he had entered Jamaica on January 22. Dias Montilla further stated under caution that, “It’s the man who gave us this document that we should look for and imprison.”

Judge Fairclough-Hylton handed down a $20,000 fine or 30 days in jail, and issued a deportation order.