2LT National News

BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia – A young man from Ireland faced an Australian court on Saturday, charged with entering the country on a false passport, and then staging a dramatic escape after he was arrested.

The 26-year-old man arrived in Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia in March this year. At passport control at Brisbane Airport, his passport was found to be fake. He was arrested after he refused to take biometric tests.

“The man allegedly escaped detention after tying bedsheets together and scaling down the side of a building,” the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement on Saturday.

The AFP said the man fled to the neighbouring state of New South Wales. The AFP issued an arrest warrant for him in April. This led to his arrest in Box Hill, in New South Wales on Thursday of this week.

He appeared before Magistrates Court in Parramatta, in Sydney, on Friday, and a successful application was made to extradite him back to Queensland that afternoon. 

Appearing before the Brisbane Arrest Court on Saturday, the man faced the following charges: 

• One count of using false documents and false or misleading information.

• One count of escaping from detention 

If convicted the young Irishman faces up to 10 years in prison, the AFP statement said.

(File photo).