Russian man who flew from Denmark to LAX without a ticket or passport has been found guilty of smuggling.

CNN
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A Russian man who flew from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Los Angeles International Airport without a ticket, passport or visa has been found guilty of air stowaway, authorities announced Friday.

Sergei Vladimirovich Ochigawa, 46, was found guilty by a jury and faces the statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

According to the law firm, the incident was discovered in November last year after Ochigaba arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a Scandinavian Airlines flight.

Ochigaba arrived at the Customs and Border Protection checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport. The complaint says he initially provided “false and misleading” information to CBP, including telling CBP that he had left his passport on the plane.

According to the criminal complaint, CBP agents were unable to find Ochigaba’s name on the manifests of Scandinavian Airlines flights or other international arrivals, and Ochigaba did not have a passport or visa to enter the United States. That’s what it means.

Ochigaba, who holds both Russian and Israeli passports, was charged on December 5 and pleaded not guilty. According to the law firm.

CNN has reached out to Ochigaba’s lawyer for comment.

Evidence presented during a three-day jury trial showed that on November 3, 2023, Ochigaba “tailgated an unsuspecting passenger through a security turnstile at Denmark’s Copenhagen Airport without a boarding pass. The United States indicated that the U.S. had allowed the U.S. to enter one of the airport’s terminals. This was announced by a law firm.

The next day, Ochigaba passed through the boarding gate unnoticed and was stowed away on a Scandinavian Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles, the statement said.

Scandinavian Airlines flight attendants said most of them recognized Ochigaba. “He continued to walk around the aircraft and change his seat. Additionally, he demanded two meals at each meal service and at one point attempted to eat chocolate that belonged to a flight attendant,” the complaint states. be.

The flight attendant did not see Ochigaba’s boarding pass, but remembered that he was sitting in an empty seat, according to the complaint. According to the complaint, flight crew members counted people in each section to ensure the plane’s takeoff and landing were balanced, but the numbers were not compiled.

When interviewed by the FBI through a Russian-speaking CBP officer on November 5, Ochigaba, who said he had a doctorate in economics and marketing and had worked in Russia as an economist “a long time ago,” He said he did not sleep at night. He didn’t understand what was happening, didn’t know if he had a ticket to come to the United States, didn’t know how he got on the plane or why he was in Copenhagen, the complaint said. The complaint states.

Mr. Ochigaba has been in federal custody since his arrest at LAX on November 4th and is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on February 5th.