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Stolen European passports on missing plane
Yahoo News ^

Posted on 03/08/2014 8:32:29 AM PST by bryan999

Edited on 03/08/2014 10:41:37 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]

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NOTE The following news release is a quote:

interpol.int/News-and-media/News/2014/N2014-038

09 March 2014

INTERPOL confirms at least two stolen passports used by passengers on missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370 were registered in its databases

INTERPOL examining additional suspect passports

LYON, France - INTERPOL can confirm that at least two passports – Austrian and Italian – recorded in its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database were used by passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370.

The Austrian and Italian passports were added to INTERPOL’s SLTD database after their theft in Thailand in 2012 and 2013 respectively. INTERPOL is also conducting checks on all other passports used to board flight MH 370 which may have been reported stolen.

No checks of the stolen Austrian and Italian passports were made by any country between the time they were entered into INTERPOL’s database and the departure of flight MH 370. At this time, INTERPOL is therefore unable to determine on how many other occasions these passports were used to board flights or cross borders.

INTERPOL is currently in contact with its National Central Bureaus in the involved countries to determine the true identities of the passengers who used these stolen passports to board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.

“Whilst it is too soon to speculate about any connection between these stolen passports and the missing plane, it is clearly of great concern that any passenger was able to board an international flight using a stolen passport listed in INTERPOL’s databases,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble

“What is important at the moment is to find out what caused Malaysia Airlines flight 370 to go missing, and in this regard INTERPOL is making all needed resources available to help relevant authorities in Malaysia and elsewhere find out what happened. In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with the families, loved ones and friends of the 239 passengers and crew on board,” said Mr Noble.

“This is a situation we had hoped never to see. For years INTERPOL has asked why should countries wait for a tragedy to put prudent security measures in place at borders and boarding gates,” said Secretary General Noble.

“Now, we have a real case where the world is speculating whether the stolen passport holders were terrorists, while INTERPOL is asking why only a handful of countries worldwide are taking care to make sure that persons possessing stolen passports are not boarding international flights,” added the INTERPOL Chief, pointing to the predicted increase in international travel reaching 1.5 billion passengers by 2017.

Last year passengers were able to board planes more than a billion times without having their passports screened against INTERPOL’s databases. As far back as 2002 following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, INTERPOL created its SLTD database to help countries secure their borders and protect their citizens from terrorists and other dangerous criminals known to use fraudulent travel documents.

Since then INTERPOL’s database has grown from a few thousand passports and searches to more than 40 million entries and more than 800 million searches per year, averaging 60,000 hits. *In 2013 the US searched the database more than 238 million times; the UK more than 140 million times and the UAE more than 104 million times.

Unfortunately, few member countries systematically search INTERPOL’s databases to determine whether a passenger is using a stolen or lost travel document to board a plane.

“If Malaysia Airlines and all airlines worldwide were able to check the passport details of prospective passengers against INTERPOL’s database, then we would not have to speculate whether stolen passports were used by terrorists to board MH 370. We would know that stolen passports were not used by any of the passengers to board that flight,” said Secretary General Noble.

“For the sake of innocent passengers who go through invasive security measures prior to boarding flights in order to get to their destination safely, I sincerely hope that governments and airlines worldwide will learn from the tragedy of missing flight MH 370 and begin to screen all passengers’ passports prior to allowing them to board flights. Doing so will indeed take us a step closer to ensuring safer travel,” concluded the head of INTERPOL.

*Updated on 11 March to include specific figures for 2013.


41 posted on 03/12/2014 3:38:05 AM PDT by Cindy
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NOTE The following news release is a quote:

interpol.int/News-and-media/News/2014/N2014-039

11 March 2014

INTERPOL Tehran identifies two Iranian nationals who used legal documents ahead of flight MH 370

LYON, France - INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Tehran has confirmed the identity of two Iranian nationals who used authentic passports to travel to Kuala Lumpur before using stolen Austrian and Italian passports to board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370.

INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said the two men’s identities were confirmed by Iranian authorities as Seyed Mohammed Reza Delavar, aged 29 and Pouria Nourmohammadi, aged 18.

The two men used the Austrian and Italian passports that were recorded in INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database to board China-bound flight MH 370.

“It was thanks to the thorough and swift response by INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Tehran that these two men have been identified,” said Secretary General Noble. “NCB Tehran has also confirmed that neither of the men had a criminal record and both left Iran legally, and we are now calling on the public’s assistance in providing additional information about their movements,” he added.

“As we work to identify any criminal network which may have facilitated the theft of the passports used by these individuals to travel internationally, it remains of serious concern to INTERPOL that approximately four out of every 10 international passengers are not being screened against our SLTD database, and this should be a worry for us all,” added the INTERPOL Chief.

“If countries are not carrying out full screening of international passengers against INTERPOL’s databases, then we must look to work with private industry in addressing this security gap,” added Mr Noble.

The INTERPOL Chief announced during a press conference at the General Secretariat headquarters that Qatar Airways and Air Arabia would pilot INTERPOL’s I-Checkit initiative, which will allow private sector partners in the travel, hotel and banking industries to screen documents against the SLTD database when people book a plane ticket, check into a hotel or open a bank account.

By screening travel document numbers, type and country of issuance of all prospective passengers against INTERPOL’s SLTD database, the enquirer will be alerted to any documents which have been reported lost or stolen and which may represent a security threat.

“After waiting years for more than a handful of member countries to take the necessary steps to systematically protect their citizens and visitors from individuals using stolen passports to cross borders, we are pleased to now have the opportunity to work with global airlines to put this vital additional passenger security measure in place,” concluded the INTERPOL Chief.

Since its creation in 2002, INTERPOL’s SLTD database has grown from a few thousand passports and searches to more than 40 million entries and more than 800 million searches per year, resulting in more than 60,000 hits.

In 2013 the US searched the database more than 238 million times; the UK more than 140 million times and the UAE more than 104 million times. Terrorists, murderers and war criminals have previously been identified by INTERPOL as having travelled internationally using stolen passports.

In 2013, less than 20 of INTERPOL’s 190 member countries systematically checked passports of international travellers against INTERPOL’s databases.


42 posted on 03/12/2014 3:40:52 AM PDT by Cindy
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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/alright-good-night-final-words-malaysia-airlines-flight-370-revealed-article-1.1718633

“‘Alright, good night’: Final words from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 revealed; families outraged at lack of answers”

NEWS WIRE SERVICES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014, 6:48 AM

SNIPPET: “Authorities have not ruled out any possible cause, including mechanical failure, pilot error, sabotage or terrorism. Both the Boeing 777 and Malaysia Airlines have excellent safety records. Until wreckage or debris is found and examined, it will be very hard to say what happened.”


43 posted on 03/12/2014 3:59:28 AM PDT by Cindy
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http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/cia-chief-ruling-terrorism-malaysia-airlines-tragedy/story?id=22863091

“CIA Chief: Not Ruling Out Terrorism in Malaysia Airlines Tragedy”

March 11, 2014
By LEE FERRAN and JAMES GORDON MEEK

SNIPPET: “Brennan also confirmed reports that the plane’s transponder had been disabled or turned off at some point during the flight, saying it was one of a number of “curious anomalies about all of this.”

“You cannot discount any possibility… Who had the ability to turn off the transponder? I don’t know,” he said. “You know, might it have been something that had happened inside the aircraft that led to its ultimate fate? Or could it have just been some type of sort of catastrophic event that unfortunately led to that aircraft’s and those passengers’ demise? I don’t know. But I don’t think people should at this point rule out any of these lines of inquiry.””


44 posted on 03/12/2014 4:05:18 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: bryan999

I love the way the media is playing this off. As though international travel with stolen passports is not put of the ordinary.


45 posted on 03/12/2014 4:10:03 AM PDT by jersey117
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http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-beijing-airport-received-terror-threat-prior-jets-1439708

“Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Terror Threat Made Against Beijing Airport Before Jet’s Disappearance”

By Vasudevan Sridharan
March 11, 2014 05:26 AM

SNIPPET: “China Airlines has revealed they had alerted the authorities at the Civil Aviation Administration of China regarding the terror threat which was made on 4 March by an unknown man.

The airline operator’s chief representative in Beijing, Peng Rong-min, said the unidentified man made the phone call threatening that a terrorist strike would take place at the Beijing airport.

The spokesperson added that they had informed the authorities concerned immediately after the call, the China Post reports.

The anonymous caller started off the conversation in French but later spoke in Mandarin as the China Airlines’s staff do not understand French. He said he represented the East Turkestan Liberation Organisation; the authenticity of the phone call or the person’s identity could not be verified.”


46 posted on 03/12/2014 4:35:18 AM PDT by Cindy
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http://rodrigoebr.tumblr.com/post/79633358093/malaysian-pm-announcement-on-mh370

“Malaysian PM announcement on #MH370”

SNIPPET: “Early this morning I was briefed by the investigation team – which includes the FAA, NTSB, the AAIB, the Malaysian authorities and the Acting Minister of Transport – on new information that sheds further light on what happened to MH370.

Based on new satellite information, we can say with a high degree of certainty that the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was disabled just before the aircraft reached the East coast of peninsular Malaysia. Shortly afterwards, near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, the aircraft’s transponder was switched off.

From this point onwards, the Royal Malaysian Air Force primary radar showed that an aircraft which was believed – but not confirmed – to be MH370 did indeed turn back. It then flew in a westerly direction back over peninsular Malaysia before turning northwest. Up until the point at which it left military primary radar coverage, these movements are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane.Today, based on raw satellite data that was obtained from the satellite data service provider, we can confirm that the aircraft shown in the primary radar data was flight MH370. After much forensic work and deliberation, the FAA, NTSB, AAIB and the Malaysian authorities, working separately on the same data, concur.

According to the new data, the last confirmed communication between the plane and the satellite was at 8:11AM Malaysian time on Saturday 8th March. The investigations team is making further calculations which will indicate how far the aircraft may have flown after this last point of contact. This will help us to refine the search.”

46 minutes ago


47 posted on 03/15/2014 12:51:31 AM PDT by Cindy
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26591056

15 March 2014 Last updated at 03:29 ET

“Missing Malaysia Airlines flight systems disabled, PM says”

SNIPPET: “The communications systems of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were deliberately disabled, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak has said.

According to satellite and radar evidence, he said, the plane then changed course and could have continued flying for a further seven hours.

He said the “movements are consistent with the deliberate action of someone on the plane”.”

SNIPPET: “Mr Razak told a news conference that new satellite evidence shows “with a high degree of certainty” that the aircraft’s communications systems were disabled and then it changed course, flying back over Malaysia towards India.

Satellite signals continued to be picked up from the plane some seven hours after it lost radar contact.”


48 posted on 03/15/2014 12:54:54 AM PDT by Cindy
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