READ THIS OLD STORY - NIGERIANS DO THIS ALL THE TIME - IT IS CRAZY. WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR PEOPLE.

STORY ONE: OLD STORY

Nigerian Stowaway to US Dies in Plane


January 2, 2004

Nigerian Stowaway to US Dies in Plane
AllAfrica.com, Africa


A Nigerian was found dead Tuesday night in the wheel well of a British Airways
plane at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, United Stated
authorities have said. Discovery of Nigerian currency notes in the 30 - 35 year
old man and the fact that the plane made a stop over in Nigeria convinced the
US that he is a Nigerian stowaway.

It is the second body found in the wheel well of a plane at the airport in less
than a week, however the body discovered earlier was that of a Jamaican.

The discovery comes at a time of a heightened terror threat alert level in the
nation. On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security asked that foreign air
carriers have armed marshals on some flights in the United States when
requested.

However, it has been the plight of many young Nige-rians to escape to other
countries in an attempt to escape harsh economic realities at home engendered
by high level official corruption.

The body was discovered while the aircraft's first officer was conducting a
routine examination after the plane's arrival from London's Heathrow Airport.

"The aircraft's first officer was conducting an examination of the plane when
he was struck by a strong odour coming from the left wheel well," a law
enforcement official involved in the investigation said.

"The dead stowaway, a black male between the ages of 30 and 35, was wearing
shoes and pants with some Nigerian currency in his pants pocket," the official
said.

"The plane was in Lagos, Nigeria, on Christmas Eve, and we believe the man
climbed into the wheel well while it was in Nigeria," he said.

Jim Peters with the US Federal Aviation Administ-ration said the body was found
hidden in the wheel well about 7 p.m. ET, was removed immediately and taken to
the medical examiner's office.

A British Airways spokes-man confirmed that a body was removed from the wheel
well of one of the airline's jets, but he declined to provide additional
information and would not speculate on any possible breach of security.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Tony Ciavolella said the
Boeing 747 flew to JFK from Heathrow as Flight 177.

The FBI, Port Authority, Queens district attorney's office and Transportation
Security Administration are conducting a joint investigation, Ciavolella said.

On Christmas Day, the body of a man was found at JFK on an American Airlines
flight from Jamaica.

Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dc/dcboard.php

*****************************************

STORY TWO: FEBRUARY 2009

Nigerian man found guilty of stowaway charge in Mobile
By Brendan Kirby
February 04, 2009, 5:47PM

MOBILE, Ala. -- A federal jury in Mobile today convicted a Nigerian man of stowing away on a cargo ship that ended up in Theodore last year.

Erik Banjoko will be sentenced in March and eventually sent back to his native country, which he told jurors he fled to escape civil unrest.
Erik Banjoko , found guilty of stowing away on ship.

U.S. District Judge Kristi DuBose dealt the 30-year-old Lagos, Nigeria, native a severe blow this morning when she ruled that defense attorney Fred Tiemann could not argue that his client never intended to come to America. She instructed the jury that the prosecution needed to prove only that Banjoko voluntarily boarded a ship without permission and that the vessel ended up in America.

Whether the defendant intended to go to Chile -- as he later maintained -- or the United States is irrelevant, the judge ruled.

"You have that issue for appeal," DuBose told Tiemann before the start of the trial. "If I'm wrong, we'll try it again."

==================================

STORY THREE: APRIL 2010

Desperate man sneaks into Delta Airline plane’s tyre compartment with the aim to be smuggled into the US, but arrives Atlanta as mangled dead body
By CHIOMA IGBOKWE
Saturday, April 17, 2010
•Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section

The family of a Nigerian, who wanted to play James Bond and perhaps, shock the world with his plan, is currently gnashing its teeth, as the venture has ended in tragedy.

Saturday Sun gathered that a young Nigerian, Mr. Emeka Okechukwu Okeke, recently wanted to do the impossible by smuggling himself into the United States, but ended up arriving not only in body bag but also as mangled body.

Impeachable sources at the Murtala Muhammed International, Lagos, revealed that Okeke had beaten all security at the airport, traced his way to the tarmac and sneaked into the tyre compartment of a Delta Airline’s plane scheduled to depart for Atlanta, United States.

It was gathered that the plane had departed Lagos, without Okeke being detected, and safely arrived Atlanta. Ground staff of the airline, in the United States, were said to have discovered pieces of flesh and blood smear on one of the tyres of the plane and raised an alarm.
A check on the plane revealed the mangled body of Okeke in one of the tyre compartments of the aircraft. The check also revealed a bag and a mobile phone on what remained of the body of the young man.
Saturday Sun gathered that shocked officials of Delta Airlines, in the US, had put on the mobile phone and scrolled through the numbers. To find out the identity of the man, they were said to have called the last number dialed and made inquiries. The man, who received the call, was said to have revealed that the owner of the phone had travelled to the United States.

Delta Airlines officials in the United States had transferred the case to Nigeria, where it was discovered that Okeke, who is married, had confided in some of his friends and relatives that he was travelling to the United States on the night he sneaked into the tyre compartment of the aircraft. His family has been contacted and its members have identified the corpse of Okeke.

According to our source, Okeke is from Anambra and had tried unsuccessfully for years to get a visa to America. Owing to desperation, he decided to embark on the risky venture, which eventually claimed his life. Although, he told his family that he was travelling to US, he never revealed that he was going to sneak into the tyre compartment of the aircraft.

According to our source, Okeke colluded with airport officials to gain access to the tarmac, before finding his way to the plane in the dark. He was said to have wrapped himself in a blanket, not knowing that the aircraft tyres would get to where he was and kill him.

Meanwhile, Delta Airline staffers, who guarded the plane at the airport on the day the incident happened, have been arrested by the police, to explain how Okeke sneaked into the tyre compartment of the plane.
Saturday Sun gathered that Delta Airline has a security policy, whereby its plane at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, is guarded from the time it arrives Nigeria, in the afternoon, till when it departs with passengers in the night.

With such security arrangement, the airline is, therefore, shocked that somebody could have access to the plane undetected and embarked on a suicide mission, which has caused the airline a scandal.
The police at the airport command are currently battling to find out how security was breached at the airport that day.

An airport official, who pleaded for anonymity, told Saturday Sun, that many people had been smuggled out of the country by sneaking into aircraft.

The source said: “That route is for people who have guts and all efforts to leave Nigeria have failed. The man has bad luck; it is not his destiny to leave Nigeria. Maybe he did not follow the instructions given to him on how to survive under there. This is not the first time people are sneaking out of Nigeria through that means. Sometime last year a woman travelled through that means and arrived safely.
“If this man arrived safely, we would not be talking about this. He was careless with his life. Now innocent staff of the airline are going to suffer for his mistake. Those who guarded the plane that night were arrested.”

The racket at the airport
The question being asked by people is, how possible is it that somebody would gain access to the tarmac undetected, considering the tight security in the airport? Our source explained that such illegal movement is being coordinated by a syndicate at the airport, which also works with airlines’ workers.
It was gathered that people who need such services pay as much as N800,000. They tutored on how to survive in the aircraft compartment. For one, it was learnt that they are given blankets and winter clothes with which they would keep warn while the plane is in flight across the Atlantic.
In the country of destination, the illegal immigrants are received by agents in the syndicate, who smuggle them into the country.

Our source blamed the level of corruption at the airport on poor working condition, alleging that some of staff are paid N30, 000 monthly.

“In this present day, how can one survive with such an amount of money? We have to survive; that is why there can never be a cure for the level of corruption at the airport. There is nothing like absolute security; the people at the helm of affairs smuggle things into the plane also, despite their fat allowance,” an airport worker said.
When contacted, officials of Delta airlines refused to comment. However, a policeman at the airport command confirmed the incident and said investigation was going on.

I always advice these desperadoes to look for other African countries to run to. See Niger, up north. though poor, but there is light, water, and good healthcare systems and you don't need a plane to go there!

They can go 2 morocco, and other west african or south african countries too.