Teens' stowaway attempt thwarted

By Cui Jia (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-25 14:01

Three Chinese teenagers who attempted to enter the United States illegally by hiding in a plane's upper cabin were caught by police at Beijing airport on Monday.

The stowaways first legally boarded an Air China flight from Shanghai to Beijing on Monday morning.

As instructed by the smugglers, they snuck during the flight into the upper cabin containing the operating and air-conditioning systems at the rear of the plane.

They had planned to remain hidden on the plane as it made its next flight from Beijing to New York, but were spotted by Air China security personnel during a routine check after all other passengers left the plane.

The stowaways were then taken away by the Beijing airport police and admitted to their plan to sneak into the US.

The two males and one female are high-school students from southern China's Fujian province, according to Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection.

The students said their families were expected to pay the snakeheads around 100,000 yuan each after they arrived in the US.

The Beijing-New York flight was delayed for two hours due to the incident.

"Only airport staff know the flight schedule of the plane," an anonymous Air China crew member told Beijing-based Legal Evening News.

That leaves the possibility some airport workers might be involved in this case, said the crew member.

In a related development, 12 workers at the Beijing International Airport went on trial in Beijing on charges of attempting to smuggle 26 Chinese overseas between 2006 and 2007.

Thirteen successfully arrived in Canada on four occasions.

The 12-man group was uncovered on Dec 12 when customs officers stopped four stowaways from Fujian province while they tried to board an Air China flight bound for Vancouver, Canada.