Ibom Air has apprehended a suspect, Ogeneochuko David, for allegedly stealing another passenger’s laptop from his bag in the overhead cabin during the flight from Lagos to Abuja on July 26, 2023.
According to Ibom Air’s General Manager, Marketing and Communications, Aniekan Essienette, in a statement he made available to newsmen in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, the incident happened on flight Q1300.
The GM quoted the owner of the stolen laptop to have said he was suspecting the movement of David in the aircraft.
That led the owner to check where his laptop was kept and quickly raised an alarm when he realised that it was no longer there.
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According to the statement issued by the airline, “A search was immediately instituted, which led to about a half-hour delay, and the laptop was found with Mr David. He was immediately offloaded and handed over to the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN) Aviation Security (AVSEC) for further investigation, who then handed him over to the police for further investigation. The police have since confirmed that the suspect is a member of a large syndicate specialising in stealing onboard aircraft.”
Additionally, the GM, who said the company strongly condemns any kind of fraud, recalled how one Kingsley Chinsunum was alleged to have stolen the sum of N100,000 from a wallet kept inside a bag in the overhead cabin and how one Mr Adebayi Adelugba, staged the stealing of his own checked-in bag and declared it missing with the intent of suing the airline for negligence but was caught through CCTV footage.
“In line with our corporate policy, Ibom Air has zero tolerance for this sort of criminal activity on board our flights and will prosecute any offenders to the full extent of the law,” she warned.