HALIFAX -- The Canada Border Services Agency says three Colombian nationals have been handed jail sentences for trying to enter the country illegally through the use of fraudulent passports.

The first, Marin Suarez, was apprehended at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Sept. 1, 2019 after he attempted to enter Canada on a fraudulent Mexican passport.

The agency says later that month, Uran Garcia and Cardona Orozco were also intercepted at the Halifax airport with fraudulent Mexican passports.

The CBSA says the trio were sentenced to jail time during court appearances earlier this month in Dartmouth, N.S.

Suarez was handed an 18-month sentence while Garcia and Orozco were each given 24-month sentences.

All had been charged with the use of fraudulent passports to obtain an electronic travel authority to enter Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2020.