Daily Mirror

BOMBS HOAX TEEN NICKED IN BEDROOM

19-year-old hacker admits 3 raps in court

- BY ANDY LINES Chief Reporter andy.Lines@mirror.co.uk

A TEENAGE hacker whose bomb hoaxes closed 400 schools and grounded a transatlan­tic airliner was held as agents swooped on his bedroom.

George Duke-Cohan, 19, yesterday admitted sending a mass email in March to try to smear a Minecraft gamer group he was feuding with.

Messages were sent to thousands of schools across the UK, claiming pipe bombs had been planted in them. The emails were made to look like they were from gaming network VeltPvP – a Minecraft player-versus-player server.

Duke-Cohan was arrested days later but released on pre-charge bail with conditions limiting his use of technology. But the National Crime Agency said he continued hoaxing while being probed, sending schools in the UK and US further bomb threats.

Last month, hacker group Apophis Squad claimed it grounded United Airlines flight UAL 949 from the UK to San Francisco. NCA investigat­ors working with the FBI found Duke-Cohan had made bomb threats to the passenger jet. In a call made while the plane was in the air, he posed as a worried father claiming his daughter had called to say gunmen had hijacked it and one of them had a bomb. NCA officers arrested Duke-Cohan at home in Watford, Herts, finding devices that breached his bail conditions. At Luton magistrate­s court yesterday, Duke-Cohan admitted three counts of making hoax bomb threats. He was remanded in custody to face Luton crown court later this month. NCA senior investigat­ing officer Marc Horsfall said: “George Duke-Cohan caused serious worry and inconvenie­nce to thousands of people.”

 ??  ?? SWOOP NCA officers seize teen in his bedroom
SWOOP NCA officers seize teen in his bedroom

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