A woman found wandering dazed and confused along Dublin's main shopping street, and who remained unidentified for nearly a month, is believed to be Australian student Samantha Azzopardi, a 25-year-old with  up to 40 aliases and several fraud convictions, the Sydney Morning Herald said.

The woman was spotted walking around in a distressed state on October 10. Investigators initially thought she was aged 14 or 15, possibly European and a victim of the sex slave trade.

The Irish police struggled to identify her because she did not appear to speak English, the newspaper said. She engaged to some extent through notes but she was unable to tell them who she was or where she was from.

She was recognised by a friend of her mother after a worldwide appeal.

The Australian media said Ms Azzopardi had a history of giving false identities, in some cases in order to claim welfare benefits.

She is said to have family in Tipperary, Ireland and had been staying with them before she left, saying she was going to travel. Her parents have been named as Bruce Azzopardi and Joanne Campbell

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2490034/Mystery-Australian-Samantha-Azzopardi-charged-wasting-Irish-polices-time.html#ixzz2jz6sBCIb