A YouTuber who thought it was amusing to orchestrate a bomb hoax at Newcastle International Airport has had the smirk wiped off his face.
Garrard Ndela, 19, of Ellison Villas, Gateshead, admitted communicating false information in relation to a bomb when he appeared in custody at Newcastle Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 5th July 2023.
This is an offence under section 51(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1977, which states: "A person who communicates any information which he knows or believes to be false to another person with the intention of inducing in him or any other person a false belief that a bomb or other thing liable to explode or ignite is present in any place or location whatever is guilty of an offence."
The maximum penalty for this offence is 7 years' custody on conviction on indictment; 26 weeks' custody and/or a fine at level 3 (£1,000 maximum) on summary conviction.
Magistrates heard that Ndela visited the airport on the morning of Monday, 3rd July 2023. In an effort to assist the Crown, he very helpfully recorded himself walking past several check-in desks whilst claiming to have an explosive device.
Security staff and police rapidly intervened to detain Ndela and bring his recording to a halt.
Magistrates were of the opinion that their sentencing powers were insufficient for such a serious offence. They duly sent the matter to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing.
Ndela was remanded in custody until his sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday, 2nd August 2023.
Detective Inspector Steve Byrne of Northumbria Police, said the case serves as a warning for anyone who thinks this type of behaviour is acceptable.
"Carrying out a prank of this nature at an airport is an incredibly stupid thing to do and can come with a jail term of up to seven years.
"Ndela planned his controversial skit and was naïve enough to believe he could get away with it unchallenged. However, this reckless behaviour is in fact a criminal offence and not something the criminal justice system takes lightly.
"I have no doubt that his appalling actions will have alarmed staff and caused unnecessary distress to passengers and visitors - it is only right that he was detained and arrested.
"The fact he has pleaded guilty and admitted his actions in court speaks volumes and I hope our communities know we take these type of offences incredibly seriously.
"As the summer months approach, our airports and transport hubs will continue to get busier and see more people passing though and we will be working hard with our partners at Counter Terrorism Policing, the UK Border Force and airport security staff to ensure everyone has as smooth a journey as possible."
In my opinion, which I am minded to convey to the Sentencing Council, it should be a statutory aggravating factor when anyone records their commission of an offence with the intention of sharing it to an online audience.
You get far too many of these pound shop online "auditors" and "citizen journalists" peddling their immoral wares to their feckless audiences and whipping up copycat instances of public nuisance. They cause untold annoyance to law-abiding members of the general public and are a drain valuable public resources.
I would hope the sentence imposed on Ndela is one that conveys a very strong signal that such moronic criminality is completely unacceptable.
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