A British teenager arrested over a false bomb alert on a packed easyJet plane to Menorca allegedly claimed on Snapchat: “I am a Taliban" and bragged he was going to blow up the aircraft.
The sick joke that has left 18-year-old Aditya Verma facing a criminal conviction and four-figure bill from the Spanish police and MoD response operation was laid bare today (July 6) as he was identified as a chess champion who had been offered a place at Cambridge University after the summer.
Local Spanish media reports that he had been heading to the island with five friends for a school graduation holiday.
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But instead of checking into the hotel, the student from Kent, spent two nights in a police cell before being hauled to court and banned from leaving Spain after being released on £8,600 bail.
Aditya is said to have insisted during the behind-closed-doors court hearing his macabre bomb joke was private and meant only for the friends travelling with him on the flight.
But he is now facing a bill expected to exceed £100,000 if he is convicted of a public order offence following his arrest on Sunday.
A state prosecutor demanded the teenager stump up £86,000 to cover the cost of the two Spanish military jets scrambled to escort the holiday plane as it neared Menorca on Sunday.
Judge Belen Velazquez decided to set it at £8,600 after hearing the prosecutor’s submission – but banned the Brit from leaving Spain and ordered him to sign on at court every fortnight.
The case will now go to the Audiencia Nacional, Spain’s National High Court which has its HQ in Madrid, because it revolves around an issue of national security.
Aditya reportedly told the judge who quizzed him he is often called ‘Taliban’ by friends because of his dark skin and Asian origin.
As well as the cost of the two F18 fighter jets scrambled to escort the easyJet flight Aditya also faces picking up the cost of the massive police operation if he is convicted of any wrongdoing.
Bomb disposal experts and sniffer dogs were drafted in as part of the response after the plane landed and was taken to an area away from the main part of the airport so it could be inspected before being declared safe.
Unconfirmed reports have pointed to Scotland Yard and French police picking up on the bomb alert on the Snapchat instant messaging app and informing Spanish cops.
The Spanish Civil Guard has not yet commented on the claim. Well-placed police sources confirmed today/yesterday (WED) the Brit holidaymaker had allegedly announced on a social media platform while he was on his way to Menorca: “I’m going to blow this plane up, I’m a Taliban.”
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said on Monday (July 4): “The Civil Guard has arrested an 18-year-old British national as the alleged author of a public order offence in Mahon in Menorca.
“On Sunday the control tower at Menorca Airport was alerted to a bomb threat on a plane heading from London to the island capital Mahon which was still in the air and nearing the airport.
“The threat was said to have been sent on a social media platform.
“Once the plane landed it was taken to an area away from the main terminal and other aircraft.
“The Civil Guard organised a special operation which consisted of mobilising bomb disposal experts as well as sniffer dogs and other officers who created a safe perimeter around the plane.
“The passengers were disembarked and established protocol followed until police were able to confirm it was a false bomb threat and the person responsible was identified on social media along with five other companions as witnesses.
“They were taken to a police station so officers could clarify the situation.”
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Passengers were reportedly kept on the tarmac for four hours while the plane was checked out.
A judicial source said after Aditya’s court hearing yesterday/on Tuesday: “The investigating judge in charge of Mahon Court of Instruction number two has released on 10,000 euros bail the young man arrested over a false bomb alert on the plane that landed on Sunday in Menorca.
“The judge has confiscated his passport, banned him from leaving Spain and told him to report periodically to court.”
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