Woman caught with fake ID while trying to travel out of Cyprus

A woman who was trying to fly out of Cypru using a fake ID is in police custody.

The 21-year-old woman who is originally from Congo had on Monday tried to fly out of Paphos airport in south Cyprus with a document police suspect is fake.

Paphos police say the woman was intending to board a flight to the Netherlands, and had presented a Portuguese ID card at Paphos airport passport control.

Suspicions arose that this document was fake as there were discrepancies as regards the security features.

The woman was questioned, and the ID taken in as evidence.

She was later arrested as checks through the asylum service’s IT system showed she was a citizen of the Congo who had applied for political asylum in December 2019.

Her application was rejected in May 2021 and in June she filed an appeal which is pending.