Checkpoint officers became suspicious. (Archive photo)
Photo: AP
Ethiopia: Israeli tries to hijack plane
Local newspaper says checkpoint officers at Bole International Airport find disassembled gun, 22 bullets in Israeli youngster’s baggage; Foreign Ministry says it is not certain suspect is in fact Israeli
Ethiopian police apprehended an Israeli youngster who allegedly planned to hijack a passenger plane in the capital, Addis Ababa, the local Daily Monitor newspaper reported.
The youngster, who was born in Ethiopia and later immigrated to Israel, was meant to fly to Tel Aviv on the morning of September 13 at 2:30 a.m. (local time) via Ethiopian Airlines flight no. 424 from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
According to police sources, he arrived at the airport at 7 p.m. and drank coffee at the London Café, inside the terminal. He checked in at 12:30 a.m. and submitted his luggage for scanning. Checkpoint officers became suspicious when they discovered a tool used for cutting metal hidden in the youngster’s suitcase.
When asked by inspectors why he had packed the tool, the youngster answered that it was just scissors. The officers reportedly withdrew the tool, at which point they found a disassembled Makarov gun concealed inside the tool’s handle. Moreover, 22 bullets were found in the suspect’s bag, the report said.
The Israeli was arrested by airport police and then transferred to the custody of the Federal Police Commission.
Israeli Foreign Ministry sources said it is not yet certain that the suspect is Israeli.
Diana Bahur-Nir contributed to this report
