A Russian man followed unsuspecting passengers through security at a Danish airport before he boarded a flight to the US without a passport or ticket the next day, prosecutors said.
Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, 46, was found guilty after sneaking onto a Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Los Angeles International Airport on November 4, 2023,
Following a three-day trial, a jury found Ochigava guilty of one count of smuggling the plane, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
Ochigava, who holds Russian and Israeli passports, followed other flyers through security turnstiles at Copenhagen Airport on November 3, 2023 to gain access to one of the terminals, where he spent the night.
The next day, Ochigawa later boarded Scandinavian Airlines flight 931 undetected.
During the 11-hour flight, cabin crew noticed Ochigawa switching between several seats listed as unoccupied.
Ochigava was stopped by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials after landing at LAX on November 4, when his name failed to appear on any incoming International flight records including the Scandinavian Airlines flight manifest.
Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on November 4 on Scandinavian Airlines flight 931 from Copenhagen. AP
He also failed to produce any identification or travel documents when asked, and none of his story added up to the officers who questioned him.
“Ochigava provided false and misleading information about his trip to the United States, including telling CBP that he left his passport on the plane,” the statement said.
CBP officers searched Ochigava’s bag, finding what “appeared to be a Russian identification card and an Israeli identification card,” federal officials said in court documents.
They also found a photo on his phone that partially showed a passport containing his name, date of birth and passport number but not his photo.
The flight crew told investigators that when the flight took off, Ochigawa was in a seat that should have been empty. Reuters
In the criminal complaint, Ochgava claimed he had not “slept for three days and did not understand what was happening.”
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles federal court two days after his arrest, also details how Ochigawa had wandered around the cabin during the flight and tried to talk to other passengers, who ignored him.
He also ate “two meals during each meal service, and at one point tried to eat chocolate belonging to Ochigawa guilty of one count of being an airplane passenger.
Ochigava, who said he could have a plane ticket to the US, also could not explain why he was in Copenhagen in the first place or how he had slipped past security at the airport.
He has been in federal custody since his arrest at LAX on November 4.
US District Judge George H. Wu scheduled a sentencing hearing for February 5.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
