Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, reported that a passenger on one of its flights allegedly stole N1 million from another passenger’s bag but was apprehended. According to Stanley Olisa, the airline’s spokesperson, the incident occurred on an Abuja-Port Harcourt flight (P47192) on July 27.
The suspect reportedly stole the money, which was contained in a brown envelope, but was caught by the owner with the assistance of the airline’s staff. During the flight, the suspect also took another passenger’s computer bag from the overhead cabin.
After stealing the money, the suspect moved to an empty seat at the back of the aircraft and was among the first few to disembark, ignoring the proper disembarkation sequence announced by the crew.
Upon apprehension, the money was retrieved, and various currencies in different denominations were found on the suspect. The airline handed the suspect over to the security operatives of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), who subsequently transferred the suspect to the police for further investigation.
However, the police later released the suspect on bail as the owner of the money was unwilling to pursue prosecution. Air Peace’s spokesperson advised passengers to be more vigilant with their personal belongings during flights and assured that the airline’s staff would remain security-conscious.
“He, thereafter, took the brown envelope containing the money, put the computer bag in another luggage compartment and moved to an empty seat at the back of the aircraft,” the airline’s spokesperson said.
“The suspect was one of the first few to disembark despite the announcement of proper disembarkation sequence by the crew.”
