The woman has been charged with stowaway after reportedly boarding an aircraft in New York over the Thanksgiving holiday without a ticket and being caught when she arrived in Paris.
On Thursday afternoon, Svetlana Dali showed up for her arraignment in federal court in Brooklyn. She came with a limp and pain, and then sat with a Russian interpreter and her lawyer, Brooklyn Federal Defenders Michael Schneider.
She went through metal detectors at airport security, according to her attorney, and her actions were the same as stealing services or jumping a turnstile.
Dali might be fined, imprisoned for up to five years, or both if found guilty.
Since the case was brought by FBI complaint, she refrained from entering a plea on Thursday. Defendants do not enter pleas until they are formally indicted by grand juries.
After the government and defense agreed on an interim order of custody to give time to prepare a bail package and find a place for Dali to live, she is expected to return to court on Friday.
Dali is a permanent resident of the United States, according to Schneider, and authorities are trying to find her a Pennsylvania residence.
Dali’s lawyer added that she worries that if she is held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, her life may be at jeopardy.
New York to Paris with no ticket
Dali boarded Delta Flight 264 on November 26 from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport, per an FBI criminal complaint.
After avoiding two security and ticketing checkpoints, the traveler boarded the aircraft without a ticket last Monday, according to a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman. She did not have any forbidden items and did not pose a security risk because, according to the spokeswoman, she underwent a thorough security check before boarding.
According to the FBI complaint, Dali got to JFK at 8:13 p.m.
According to the complaint, she tried to get into the screening line at 8:24 p.m., but a TSA officer turned her away because she didn’t show her boarding pass. Five minutes later, she managed to get into the security line by using a different lane designated for airline workers who were disguised by a sizable Air Europa flight crew, the complaint said.
Dali reportedly boarded the Delta flight at 10:03 p.m., according to the FBI complaint.
The lawsuit claims that Delta employees failed to stop her or request that she show a boarding pass because they were too busy assisting ticketed customers to board.
According to the FBI complaint, Delta employees discovered she wasn’t supposed to be on the trip when it landed in Paris at 10:37 p.m. After Dali was unable to produce her flight permit when they asked for it, they reported the event to French police.
According to the FBI complaint, Dali was detained by French authorities upon the plane’s arrival in Paris. A spokeswoman for France’s border police said that she was ultimately refused entry into the country because she did not have a valid travel passport or visa.
Due to her disruptive behavior, she was removed from her Sunday return trip to the United States.
According to a senior law enforcement source, Dali was arrested in New York after returning to the United States on a Delta flight on Wednesday.
The FBI complaint claims that Dali admitted to flying without a boarding pass during an interrogation with officials at JFK Airport. According to the lawsuit, she allegedly acknowledged to authorities that she knew her acts were unlawful.
According to the lawsuit, she claimed, among other things, that she didn’t have a plane ticket and that she purposefully avoided TSA officers and Delta staff in order to travel without purchasing one. She did this by searching for ways to get around them when she knew they would request her boarding pass.
Bypassing airport security rarely happens
Dali did go past several security checks at JFK, according to TSA Administrator David Pekoske, but I want to emphasize that she was vetted.
However, according to Pekoske, avoiding security checkpoints is difficult and infrequent.
He claimed that it was evident from security footage that she was trying to evade security checks on November 26, the busiest day of the Thanksgiving travel surge.
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Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.