British in Madrid court over fake Snapchat plane bomb

A man from Britain is being accused of causing trouble in public after making a joke about blowing up a plane. He is now facing trial in Spain.

In July 2022, Aditya Verma posted a comment on Snapchat while he was heading to Menorca Island with his friends.

Before Verma left Gatwick airport, he sent a message saying: “I’m on my way to explode the plane (I’m a member of the Taliban). ”

Mr Verma said in a Madrid court on Monday that he never meant to make people upset or cause them harm.

If the university student is found to be responsible, they will have to pay a lot of money for the costs of sending two Spanish Air Force jets.

The UK security services noticed Mr Verma’s message and told the Spanish authorities while the easyJet plane was still flying.

A court in Madrid was told that it was believed the message caused concern after it was found using Gatwick’s Wi-Fi network.

Soon after that, the court was informed that two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were sent to fly next to the aircraft.

A jet followed the plane all the way to Menorca and when it landed, the plane was searched a lot.

Mr Verma, who was 18 years old, was taken by the police. He was held in a police jail for two days and then let out on bail, the court was informed.

When he got back to the UK, the British military intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 asked him some questions before he went home to Orpington, Kent.

Mr Verma went to court on Monday. He is studying economics at Bath University. He told the court that the message was just a joke in a private group.

“He said he just sent it to my friends who I was traveling with that day. ”

When asked about why he sent the message, Mr. Verma said: “People have made fun of how I look since I was in school. ” It was to make people smile and have some fun.

When he saw the fighter jets next to the plane, Mr. Verma thought it was a military practice for the Russia-Ukraine war.

He said the pilot of the plane told everyone that fighter jets were sent by mistake, because someone sent a distress signal by accident.

The police looked through Mr. Verma’s phone and found that he had been looking up information about fights between Pakistan and India and potential attacks by the Islamic State in that region. But they didn’t find anything to show that Mr. Verma was involved in radical terrorist beliefs.

Mr Verma could be fined €22,500 if he is found guilty, but he is not in danger of going to jail for terrorism charges. The Spanish defense ministry is also asking for €95,000 to cover their expenses.