A stateless man has been arrested at Gibraltar Airport after allegedly attempting to travel to the UK using a forged Dutch passport.

The 27-year-old, identified by the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) only by the initials Y.A., was detained at Sir Joshua Hassan International Airport on Sunday.

Ground-handling staff reportedly became suspicious during pre-boarding checks after spotting irregularities with the UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) presented by the passenger.

The RGP was alerted and officers from its Response Team attended the airport.

Further checks allegedly uncovered a forged Dutch passport bearing an identity that did not correspond to the passenger’s own.

However, officers also discovered a valid stateless person’s identity document issued by the Greek authorities among his belongings.

A stateless person is someone who is not considered a national by any country under the operation of its laws, meaning they do not possess the nationality of a recognised state.

Following his arrest, Y.A. was taken to New Mole House Police Station, where he was interviewed by officers.

He remained in police custody overnight and was due to appear before the Gibraltar Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The RGP said he faces a charge relating to the possession of a forged or irregular passport.

The investigation comes after another alleged false-document case at Gibraltar Airport recently, when a 32-year-old Georgian woman was arrested while attempting to travel to the UK using what police said was a forged Lithuanian passport.