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Russian national lands in Los Angeles with neither passport, visa, ticket nor explanation

Sergey Ochigava claimed he could not remember embarking on the airplane

NEW YORK, December 12. /TASS/. A Russian national managed to travel from Copenhagen, Denmark, to the United States, arriving in Los Angeles, California, without a passport and visa, or even an airline ticket, and appeared unable to provide a cogent explanation for how his undocumented journey had occurred.

According to court records, Sergey Ochigava, an economist by profession, arrived in Los Angeles on November 4 but was unable to provide his passport or a visa to US immigration authorities at the airport. During questioning, he claimed he could not remember embarking on the airplane.

"Ochigava had a Ph.D. in economics and marketing. He last worked as an economist in Russia a long time ago. He claimed he had not been sleeping for three days and did not understand what was going on. Ochigava stated he might have had a plane ticket to come to the United States, but he was not sure," US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Agent Caroline Walling, who interviewed Ochigava, said, as quoted by Fox News.

Russian and Israeli internal passports were found among his belongings.

According to the air carrier, Scandinavian Airlines, the man failed to provide a boarding pass when getting on the plane, wandered around the aircraft’s cabin throughout the flight, kept changing seats, and asked for two meals during each meal service.

Ochigava is facing charges of being a stowaway on an aircraft. He is currently being held at a detention center pending trial. A representative of the Russian national declined to comment on the case.

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