A Russian economist without a passport, visa, or airline ticket arrived in Los Angeles from Copenhagen and is unable to explain to U.S. authorities how it happened, as reported by RIA Novosti.
Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava was detained on November 4 at the passport control checkpoint at Los Angeles airport when he could not be found on the passenger lists of any of the incoming international flights.
According to court documents, the man could not produce a passport or entry visa and, during questioning, claimed not to remember how he boarded the SAS airline flight and passed security checks at the Copenhagen airport.
“Ochigava holds a Ph.D. in economics and marketing. He worked as an economist in Russia a long time ago. He claimed he hadn’t slept for three days and didn’t understand what was happening,” stated the document signed by an FBI special agent.
Upon inspecting his baggage, Russian and Israeli internal “identity documents” were found, along with a partial photo of a passport on his mobile phone containing his name, date of birth, and document number.
Airline representatives confirmed that Ochigava flew on their flight from Copenhagen. According to them, the man did not present a boarding pass and occupied a seat that was not assigned to any passenger. During the flight, he wandered around the cabin, changed seats, attempted to engage with fellow passengers, but was mostly ignored.
“He asked for two portions at each meal session and once tried to eat chocolate belonging to the crew,” the document states.
In a Los Angeles court, Ochigava has been charged with unauthorized entry on board an aircraft and is being held in custody pending further investigation.
