A wanted man pulled over by police in the early hours of this morning attempted to avoid arrest by providing a false name, failing to account that the false details he provided were that of another wanted man.

The man was then arrested on charges relating to the legitimate owner of the fake name.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said police discovered the deception when the man was brought back to the station.

Not so coincidentally, upon uncovering the man’s legitimate identity, police discovered he also had a warrant for his arrest.

Bond said the man was stopped by police on the forecourt of a Z station on Andersons Bay Road at 12.35am this morning.

“The driver of the car provided false details, and the false details given were for a male that had a warrant for his arrest. So he was arrested on that.”

The man, a 30-year-old male from the North Island, was also under the influence of alcohol, at 698mcg.

He appeared in court this morning charged with driving contrary to terms of the alcohol interlock licence, drunk driving and giving false information as to his identity.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.