New arrest at Paphos airport over stolen passport

Another person, a man of African origin aged 23 has been arrested at Paphos airport with what police believe is a stolen passport.

He was aiming to fly to Berlin in Germany on a French passport, which on inspection was found to be genuine but there were significant differences between the photo and the person holding the passport.

There have been a spate of cases recently involving people of African origin trying to leave Cyprus with fake or stolen passports.

Meanwhile, police also arrested a 31-year-old African man for staying illegally in Cyprus. He was arrested around 3am on Wednesday. They said he had been rejected for political asylum, in December. He is being held in Paphos while arrangements are being made for his deportation.