Jailed, ‘bomb on jet’ hoaxer late for flight
A MAN who made a hoax bomb call in a bid to catch his flight to America was jailed for 10 months yesterday.
Jacob Meir Abdellak was running late for his flight to Los Angeles when he rang police to report a bomb threat at Gatwick airport.
The flight was ready to leave when the 47-year-old rang just eight minutes before take off.
He had realised he was not going to make it to the West Sussex airport in time for the early morning Norwegian airline flight on May 11.
Despite the plane being delayed for 90 minutes because of his call, the librarian was still late for the flight and was involved in a heated argument with flight attendants after they refused him permission to board.
Airport staff assisted police, who traced the anonymous call to the mobile phone Abdellak, of Hackney, east London, used for his booking.
He was arrested when he returned to the airport on May 22 to catch another flight to the US.
Abdellak was charged with communicating false information regarding a noxious substance likely to create serious risk to human health.
He initially denied the charge, claiming he could not have made the call because the SIM card to his mobile phone had been stolen shortly before that date.
However, at Lewes Crown Court yesterday, as his trial was about to begin, Abdellak admitted the offence.
Gatwick Police Chief Inspector Marc Clothier said: “This was a ridiculous decision made by Abdellak, who fabricated an extremely serious allegation purely for his benefit. He was running late for his flight and thought it would be a good idea to call in a hoax bomb.
“However, this turned out to be the worst decision he could have made.
“His actions caused the flight to be delayed and also caused a level of fear and distress among a number of staff and passengers on board that flight.
“The consequences of making allegations about bombs, guns or similar at densely populated locations such as airports are well documented.
“Abdellak’s sentence serves as a warning to others that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated and offenders will be dealt with robustly.”
Abdellak, originally from France, was also told to pay a £140 victim surcharge.