A Russian man followed an unsuspecting passenger through security at a Denmark airport before boarding a U.S.-bound flight without a passport or ticket the next day, prosecutors said.
Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, 46, was found guilty after sneaking aboard a Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Los Angeles International Airport on November 4, 2023.
After a three-day trial, a jury found Ochigava guilty of one count of stowing away on an airplane, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
Ochigava, who had Russian and Israeli passports, followed another passenger through a security turnstile at Copenhagen airport on November 3, 2023 to access one of the terminals, where he spent the night.
The next day, Ochigava boarded Scandinavian Airlines Flight 931 without being detected.
During the 11-hour flight, cabin crew members noticed Ochigava switching between several seats that were listed as unoccupied.
Ochigava was detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents after landing at LAX on November 4, when his name did not 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 present any identification or travel documents when asked, and none of his stories matched those of the officials who questioned him.
“Ochigava gave false and misleading information about his trip to the United States, including telling CBP that he left his passport on the plane,” the statement read.
CBP agents searched Ochigava’s suitcases and found what “appeared to be Russian identification cards and an Israeli identification card,” federal officials said in court documents.
They also found a photo on his phone partially showing a passport that contained his name, date of birth and a passport number, but not his photograph.
The flight crew told investigators that during the flight’s departure, Ochigava was in a seat that was supposed to be unoccupied. REUTERS
In a criminal complaint, Ochgava stated that he “had not slept for three days and did not understand what was happening.”
The complaint, filed in federal court in Los Angeles two days after his arrest, also details how Ochigava wandered around the cabin during the flight and attempted 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 that belonged to Ochigava, guilty of a stowaway charge on a plane.
Ochigava, who said he might have had a plane ticket to the United States, also could not explain why he was in Copenhagen in the first place or how he had sneaked past security at the airport.
He has been in federal custody since his arrest at LAX on November 4.
U.S. District Judge George H. Wu scheduled a sentencing hearing for Feb. 5.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn