Asian student in plane 'mutiny' is convicted fraudster

LONDON - An Asian student who was at the centre of a race row when he was removed from a holiday flight following a "mutiny" from fellow passengers, is a convicted fraudster facing a possible jail term.

Sohail Ashraf, 21, and his friend Khurram Zeb, 22, were escorted from the Malaga to Manchester flight last month after other tourists voiced fears that the men could be terrorists.

The incident provoked accusations that the airline and passengers were being racist, followed by allegations that the affair had been a publicity stunt.

Suspicions about the motives of the two young men were raised after it emerged that they had only been in Malaga for a few hours before flying home.

It has since emerged that Ashraf is facing a jail sentence for cloning credit cards while working at a petrol station.

Details of the fraud were heard in court two days after the race row, but until now have not received national publicity.

Ashraf pleaded guilty to the theft of £2,960 and was charged under the proceeds of crime act to the value of £6,000 when he appeared before Macclesfield magistrates.

The court was told on 18 August that he used a machine to copy credit card details while working as a petrol attendant at the Kings Arms Garage, Wilmslow.

He spent the stolen money to partly pay for a £38,000 BMW.

The conviction will be seized upon by airline industry insiders who believe that the row was a deliberate stunt to obtain money from the media.

The pair has denied that their behaviour was a hoax that got out of control.

The story of the "mutiny" involving Ashraf, of Delacourt Road, Manchester, and Mr Zeb, received publicity around the world.

Ashraf and his colleague were removed from the aircraft on 16 August after passengers feared they were terrorists because they were "acting suspiciously".

They were wearing heavy clothing in the heat, continually checking their watches and speaking in Urdu, which was mistaken for Arabic.

Joe Naughton, 43, a teacher who was on the flight, said he was convinced the two men caused the mutiny by their own foolish behaviour.

Joe said: "They were probably just trying to wind us up. One of them was in a very agitated state and said: 'This is going to be the longest half hour of my life.' Then I heard the lad in the middle say: 'They haven't checked my shoelaces.'

"I decided to get off. It's only money and I wasn't prepared to put us at risk."

Six travellers left the aircraft and refused to reboard the Monarch Airlines flight after the pair aroused suspicion.

The students were escorted off the flight by armed police but were later cleared by airport security and returned to Manchester on a plane the next day.They denied they had done anything wrong.

Later it was revealed that they booked flights at £166 each after the massive security alert surrounding the arrests over the alleged plot to bomb transatlantic jets.

The itinerary of the two men also aroused suspicion, with the outward journey landing at 7.25pm in Malaga and returning to Manchester at 3am the next morning, given them less than eight hours in Spain.

Despite arriving at night the two men said they wanted to 'check out' the resort before taking a holiday there next month.

"It was the cheapest way to do it," said Ashraf.

"It only cost us about £350 including a hire car."

They spent their time in Malaga, he said, visiting bars and McDonald's.

Ashraf, who lives in Manchester with his parents, brother and two sisters, added: "We did not do anything to attract attention on the plane. It was only when a little girl started to cry that people got agitated."

After the plane incident, Ashraf told national newspapers his only brush with the law was a conviction for fraud committed two years ago.

But his credit card fraud came to light after he put his illegal proceeds towards a £37,950 BMW.

In court he admitted cloning customers' debit and credit cards in November 2005 while working at the Alderley Road petrol station.

Sentence was adjourned until September 11 for reports.

Magistrates warned the defendant that he could be jailed.

- INDEPENDENT