02-08-2025
Irish national charged after allegedly using a fake passport to enter Australia and escaping detention with bedsheets
Federal police have charged an Irish man they allege entered the country on a false passport and later escaped detention using bedsheets tied together.
Michael Connors, 26, appeared briefly in the Brisbane Arrest Court on Saturday morning, where no application for bail was made on his behalf.
Mr Connors, who the Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege is in the country unlawfully, has been charged with two migration offences.
It's alleged he entered Australia on a false passport and was then detained when he refused to undertake biometric tests.
The AFP alleges he then escaped detention after tying bedsheets together and scaling down the side of a building.
The AFP said it issued an arrest warrant for Mr Connors in April 2025.
He was then apprehended by NSW Police Force officers in the outer Sydney suburb of Box Hill on Thursday.
He appeared before Parramatta Magistrates Court on Friday, where police said a successful application was made to extradite the man back to Queensland.
Mr Connors has been charged with two federal offences, including one count of using false documents and false or misleading information and one count of escaping from detention.
The maximum penalty for the false documents' offence is 10 years' imprisonment.
Mr Connors's lawyer Mark Stone made no application for bail on his client's behalf and did not answer reporters' questions, saying he had "no comment" as the matter was before the courts.
The matter will return to court on August 15.
