JFK Airport stowaway Svetlana Dali slipped past gate agents to board Paris-bound Delta flight: security footage
The unhinged Russian stowaway who snuck onto a Paris-bound flight at JFK Airport last year gained access to the plane by blending in with a group of passengers and sneaking past two distracted gate agents, new video captured.
Svetlana Dali, 57, was spotted on surveillance footage as she navigated past several security checkpoints before boarding the Delta jet at the Queens airport on Nov. 26, 2024.
Dali was waved through a security screening checkpoint before a female TSA agent conducted a quick body pat-down before allowing the woman through to the terminal, according to video from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and obtained by the Associated Press.
7 Svetlana Dali walks through a security checkpoint at JFK International Airport on Nov. 26, 2024.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP
She had allegedly been turned away at one security checkpoint for not having a boarding pass, but took advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday traveling chaos and snuck through a screening area for airport employees.
'The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded the aircraft,' a TSA spokesperson told The Post in November.
The Russian citizen, who held a US green card, carried her bags to the Delta gate, where she waited to board Flight 264 bound for Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Dressed in a coat and gray hood, Dali blended in with a group of five travelers who were being checked in by the two gate agents and walked onto the jetway unnoticed.
After boarding the plane, the stowaway hid inside one of the lavatories during takeoff.
7 Dali is stopped by a TSA agent for a pat-down after passing through the body scanner.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP
7 Svetlana Dali leaves Brooklyn Federal Court on Dec. 6, 2024.
Robert Mecea
A flight attendant spotted her inside one of the bathrooms towards the end of the seven-hour flight.
She was restrained in a seat and was detained by French police upon landing at the airport.
Dali was booted off two return flights after she caused a disruptive outburst on the first attempt and was barred by the airline for the second trip.
She was eventually extradited back to New York, where law enforcement officials waited for her.
7 Dali stands behind a group of travelers at the gate before boarding the flight.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP
7 Dali, wearing a jacket and gray hood, walks past two Delta gate agents to board the Paris-bound flight.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey via AP
A federal grand jury indicted her in January for one count of stowaway on an aircraft.
She pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Dali was initially released from jail under conditions of wearing an ankle monitor, which she ditched during her attempt to cross the border into Canada on a Greyhound bus from Buffalo.
The brazen attempt to flee the country came only 10 days after she was released by a judge and ordered to wear the GPS tracker.
7 Svetlana Dali is questioned after becoming disruptive onboard a return flight from Paris to New York on Nov. 30, 2024.
Gary Treichler via Storyful
7 A federal grand jury indicted her in January for one count of stowaway on an aircraft.
Svetlana Dali/Facebook
She had been staying at a friend's home in Philadelphia at the time.
Border officials arrested her after she failed to provide a passport and they discovered an active warrant out for her because she breached her release agreements.
After her latest arrest, she was ordered to be held in a Brooklyn federal lockup.
A trial is set for May, but lawyers are reportedly working on a plea deal before the court date.
With Post wires
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
17 minutes ago
- The Hill
ICE moves to dismiss cases in bid to fast-track deportations after courthouse arrests
As Vadzim Baluty watched his son Aliaksandr Baluty get arrested by six plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers directly after an immigration court hearing, he had the sinking feeling he'd made a costly mistake. Vadzim Baluty, accompanying his son for his first court appearance in his asylum bid, agreed last month when an ICE prosecutor offered to drop the case against the recent Belarusian migrant, not realizing his son would be swiftly detained as soon as the pair exited the courtroom. 'I felt like we had fallen into a judicial trap,' he said in Russian through an interpreter in an interview with The Hill. 'We left the courtroom and an ICE officer told us our son was going to be deported in three days. Nobody told us the decision that we made — what it was going to cause.' ICE prosecutors across the country are increasingly moving to dismiss cases against migrants in a bid to fast track their deportations. While a dismissal might seem like the end of a battle to remain in the county, some leaving courthouses have instead been met by ICE agents who are then free to arrest them and place them in expedited removal proceedings, speeding their deportation without a court hearing. Rekha Sharma-Crawford, an immigration lawyer and board member with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) called it a 'bait and switch.' 'The troubling thing here is that people are doing the right thing and going to court. They hear what they think is great news, that their case is dismissed. But instead, they are subject to a bait and switch and a plainclothes ICE agent will then arrest them. They are detained and then they are pressured to sign documents that basically sign away all of their rights, and they are subject to expedited removal and don't have a chance for a full and fair hearing,' she said in a call with reporters. Vadzim Baluty, a 47-year-old Belarusian political activist who was granted asylum in 2022 after fleeing the Lukashenko dictatorship, thought ICE was aware of his petition to bring his children to the country. He also didn't think Aliaksandr Baluty, now 21, would be deported after entering the country legally. His son was permitted to enter the U.S. through Mexico after waiting in the country seven months for an appointment made through the Biden-era CBP One app. Such a dynamic has only become possible with the shift from the Trump administration, which has expanded the scope of expedited removals. While the process previously was used only for migrants within two weeks of their entering the country and within 100 miles of the border, the Trump administration now allows the tool to be used up to two years after a person enters the U.S. regardless of where they are in the country. Critics call the move an end run around due process and fault the administration for using ICE officers who are often not in uniform and may be wearing masks. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) went to an immigration courthouse in his district last week, sitting in on court proceedings and witnessing ICE prosecutors dismiss cases followed by migrants being arrested by plainclothes agents as they exited — something he called 'Gestapo-like behavior.' 'The Department of Homeland Security has implemented, over the last week, a coordinated effort to do an end run around our legal system in order to remove nonviolent, noncriminal immigrants trying to come into this country through a lawful pathway of immigration proceedings, and in many cases, asylum proceedings,' he said at a press conference afterward. 'By recommending dismissal of their cases, the Department of Homeland Security is essentially taking jurisdiction away from the court, removing the asylum application from going forward, and then allowing the immigration agents to arrest these people and put them in a deportation proceeding under a different authority than the one that they just dismissed, which has fewer rights and applies in very few circumstances.' Sharma-Crawford said it's especially confusing for pro se litigants — those representing themselves in court. Not only are they being approached by plainclothes officers, but they may not know what to do next. Those placed in expedited removal are not entitled to a hearing, but they can request an interview with an asylum officer if they fear they will be persecuted if returned to their home country. If they pass that screening, their case could be returned to immigration court. Vadzim Baluty has since hired attorney Malinda Schmiechen to represent his son, who asked for the credible fear interview that would route his case back into the immigration court system. Aliaksandr Baluty told them how during a visit to register for the mandatory draft, military officials in the country made a veiled comment about his father and said they were going to teach him to 'love the motherland.' Another officer in the room said, 'You will be in the army for your father.' 'The draft officer said that I — in the army — I would be punished for my father,' Aliaksandr Baluty told an asylum officer, according to a transcript of the interview his attorney shared with The Hill. At his father's advice, Aliaksandr Baluty fled that night to nearby Georgia. Military officials later showed up at his mother's house with a forged conscription document, saying they would prosecute him as a draft dodger. Schmiechen was informed Thursday night, however, that an asylum officer rejected the claim, calling it 'a betrayal all around.' 'I feel like this is a betrayal against our law, against the America that is a sanctuary for so many, and against young Aliaksandr, who fled for his life and seeks to live peacefully with his family,' Schmiechen told The Hill. 'It's a betrayal because the government attorneys betrayed the law with their motion to dismiss, knowing that it would lead to Aliaksandr's detention. It's a betrayal because the American government is using taxpayer money unnecessarily to detain Aliaksandr, and it's a betrayal to Aliaksandr, whose detention is treating him like a criminal, though he's not one.' The arrests come as the GOP at large has vented frustration at the immigration court system, where cases can languish in a years-long backlog. The Department of Homeland Security defended the courthouse arrests as well as their use of expedited removal. 'Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals. Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been,' the department said in a statement. 'If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.' Goldman also criticized ICE for using plainclothes officers, saying that in his observations, agents had printed out photos of those they would be arresting and were often wearing masks. 'When I asked them, 'Why are you wearing a mask?' One person told me, 'Because it's cold.' I asked him if he would testify to that under oath, and he walked away and wouldn't respond to me,' he said. 'Another person admitted that they were wearing masks so that they are not caught on video. And my question to them is: 'If what you are doing is legitimate, is lawful, is totally aboveboard, why do you need to cover your face?'' Schmiechen said she's working quickly to explore other options for Aliaksandr Baluty, including requesting that his credible fear claims be reviewed by an immigration court judge. If that doesn't work, she's planning to make a filing in federal court. 'I just feel like we don't have much time at this point,' she said. To Vadzim Baluty, the whole episode has chilling parallels with what he experienced in Belarus. 'This is how it began,' he said. The arrest of his son, just feet from the courthouse doors, happened in less than 60 seconds and left him in shock. He said he never imagined the words 'stop prosecution' could have led to 'expulsion from the country and separation of father and son.' 'Everything is starting to remind us that we are not in a free country. What is happening today is vaguely reminiscent of the birth of a dictatorship, when they categorically begin to solve the political issue at the moment with immigration,' he said. 'I don't feel safe now. None of the immigrants feel safe in the U.S.'
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Man running late for flight makes fake bomb threat to delay takeoff, feds say
A Michigan man arriving at the Detroit airport too late to board his California-bound flight called in a fake bomb threat to delay its takeoff, federal officials reported. John Charles Robinson, 23, of Monroe, Michigan, was arrested a day later on Friday, June 6, when he arrived at the airport to board another flight, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a news release. Robinson was turned away at the gate for Spirit Airlines Flight 2145, bound for Los Angeles, after arriving late at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Thursday, June 5, prosecutors said. At 6:25 a.m., Robinson used a cell phone to call the airline to make a false threat about a bomb on the airliner, prosecutors said. 'There's gonna be someone that's gonna try to blow up that flight, 2145,' Robinson said, according to prosecutors. He gave a fake description of the supposed bomber. 'They're still threatening to do it, they're still (attempting) to do it, they said it's not going to be able to be detected. Please don't let that flight board,' he said, according to prosecutors. Robinson later confessed he hoped to delay takeoff so he would not miss the flight, the Detroit Free Press reported. Instead, authorities removed passengers from the airliner, canceled the flight and searched the plane with bomb-sniffing dogs, prosecutors said. No explosives were found. The passengers boarded another flight to Los Angeles later that day, according to The Detroit News. Robinson rebooked his flight and was arrested when he returned to the airport on charges including using a cellphone to threaten/maliciously convey false information in an attempt or alleged attempt to damage or destroy an airplane using an explosive, the newspaper reported. 'No American wants to hear the words 'bomb' and 'airplane' in the same sentence,' said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., in the release. 'Making this kind of threat undermines our collective sense of security and wastes valuable law enforcement resources In a statement to WWJ-TV, Spirit Airlines said the 'safety of our Guests and Team Members is our top priority.'
2 hours ago
Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay in serious condition after shooting at political rally
BOGOTA -- BOGOTA (AP) — Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a conservative presidential hopeful, was in serious condition Sunday following surgery for a gunshot wound at a political rally a day earlier, Bogota's mayor said. Mayor Carlos Galán visited the Fundación Santa Fe clinic to express solidarity with the family of the 39-year-old senator. 'He survived the procedure; these are critical moments and hours for his survival,' said Galán early Sunday after receiving information from the medical staff at the clinic. The hospital said Sunday that Uribe Turbay was recovering in intensive care after undergoing neurosurgery and a procedure on his left thigh. His condition was described as 'extremely serious,' and his prognosis was reserved. 'Miguel continues to fight hard for his life, and I ask each of you to keep praying fervently,' Uribe Turbay's wife, María Claudia Tarazona, said in a statement. Former presidents Álvaro Uribe and César Gaviria visited the clinic, along with senators, city council members and other politicians, including former senator Ingrid Betancourt. The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood in Bogota when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former president Uribe. The men are not related. Images circulating on social media showed a person firing several shots at the senator from behind, apparently hitting his head before he collapsed. The Attorney General's Office, which is investigating the shooting, said the senator received two gunshot wounds in the attack, which also wounded two others. Their identities and conditions have not been disclosed. The office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a firearm. He was injured in the leg and was recovering at another clinic, authorities said. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez added that over 100 officers are investigating who was behind the attack. Uribe Turbay is the political heir of his grandfather, former President Julio César Turbay who was in office from 1978-82. His mother, Diana Turbay, was a journalist who was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during a failed rescue attempt. Her death came during one of the most violent periods in the history of the South American country, then-plagued by drug cartel violence. The senator announced his presidential bid in early March. Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026, marking the end of President Gustavo Petro's term. Petro, the country's first leftist leader, is not eligible for reelection. Outside the Fundación Santa Fe clinic, dozens of people gathered in prayer for Uribe Turbay's recovery. Late on Saturday, after leading an extraordinary Security Council session, Petro, Colombia's first leftist president, promised 'complete transparency' in the investigation and to find out who was behind the attack. He also promised an investigation into any failures by the senator's bodyguards. The president canceled a planned trip to France 'due to the seriousness of the events,' according to a presidential statement. 'I hope Uribe Turbay survives — that is what I wish more than anything,' Petro said, adding that no one should seek to politically exploit the attack. World leaders and senior officials, including from the United States, Chile, Ecuador, and the European Union, condemned the violence and expressed support for the Colombian people and Uribe Turbay's family. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the 'United State condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe.' He urged Petro 'to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials.' 'This is a direct threat to democracy and the result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government,' Rubio said.
