SIX Sussex football hooligans have broken their banning orders by failing to hand over their passports to stop them flying to Brazil for the World Cup.
Thirty-seven Sussex-based football fans are currently subject to football banning orders preventing them from attending major football tournaments. More than 80 per cent of these fans complied with requirements to hand in their passports by midnight on Wednesday or did not own a passport.
But officers are trying to track down the six remaining fans who have failed to hand over their travel documents and are now wanted for arrest for breaching their football banning orders.
Information on the wanted men has been passed on to police forces across the country and to port authorities.
Fans who breach their orders face up to six months in jail, a fine of up to £5,000 and a further banning order.
All the fans subject to banning orders in the county are men and the majority have described themselves to authorities as either Brighton and Hove Albion or Crawley Town supporters.
The news comes as Sussex Police issued a new warning to football fans that extra patrols will be on duty across Sussex during and after high-profile matches to respond to any public disorder incidents.
Local officers have also been working with local authorities and licensees from pubs and clubs to deter trouble before it starts.
The aim is to now serve drinks in plastic or polycarbonate glasses and alert police officers to any trouble makers.
Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp said recent international football tournaments have been largely trouble free in Sussex with just one football-related arrest on the three England group match nights at the last European Championships in 2012.
He added: “Our main aim is to make this another safe and trouble-free tournament.
“We want people to enjoy themselves but not to the detriment of others so our approach will be friendly but firm with anyone who uses the event as an excuse to cause trouble.
“We have powers to stop individuals drinking in public, and powers to require people to disperse from specific areas, if we think they are likely to cause or are causing trouble.
“We are also adopting a joint command structure with Surrey Police and each force will be able to provide extra officers to the other if the need should arise.”
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