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Topics: News, Terrorism, World News, UK News, Travel
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: News, Terrorism, World News, UK News, Travel
A teenagers ‘private joke’ between his friends on snapchat landed him in hot water as the Spanish airforce was forced to intervene.
Aditya Verma, a British 18-year-old university student at the time, caused a stir with a simple message to his friends in 2022.
Ahead of a holiday with friends to the island of Menorca in July 2022, he sent a disturbing message that caught the attention of Spanish and British security services.
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Before departing Gatwick airport, he sent a message on social media platform snapchat saying: "On my way to blow up the plane (I'm a member of the Taliban)."
Verma has defended his actions and insisted it was simply ‘a joke in a private group setting’.
“It was just sent to my friends I was travelling with on the day,” he added.
“Since school, it's been a joke because of my features... It was just to make people laugh."
The student attempted to explain his actions while in court on Monday (January 22), as he could face a hefty fine as he is accused of a public disorder.
Despite the message, Verma is not facing terrorism charges or a jail sentence, but he could be fined up to €22,500 ($24,409) if found guilty.
Not only that but the Spanish defense ministry is demanding €95,000 ($103,062) in expenses.
The incident likely caused panic on Verma’s easyJet flight as the UK security services who flagged the message, sent it to Spanish authorities while his flight was still in the air.
This message, combining the words 'explosion,' 'Taliban,' and 'plane,' are expected to have triggered the British police's cyber-security systems.
The court on Monday was told that two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were sent to flank the aircraft as a result.
During the court hearing, Verma was also asked what he thought was happening when the F-18 fighter jets were spotted.
He said: "The Russia-Ukraine war was happening so I thought it was a military exercise related to [that] conflict."
He also explained that the pilot made an announcement and told passengers that the jets had been scrambled due to a distress signal that had been sent in error.
Officials also explained that Verma was arrested upon the flight landing.
His phone and internet history was then combed through and he was questioned by police. They said that he had previously researched clashes between Pakistan and India and the possibilities of an Islamic State attack in the area.
However, they confirmed they found nothing of interest that linked Verma to jihadist radicalism.
Speaking to the Mail Online, Verma expressed his regret at the entire situation.
“It was a moment of madness which I regret and I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused. It was a joke and I didn't mean anything by it,” he said.
“I'm sorry for ruining my friends' holiday but it was all just a joke and I didn't mean to scare anyone on the plane if they were frightened by what happened."
The verdict in Verma’s case is expected in the next few days.