Police issue passenger reminder after man jailed for possession of knife in bag

Police are reminding passengers to double check their luggage before arriving at Gatwick Airport, after a man was jailed for possessing a lock knife.

Franco Vences arrived at the airport on the morning of 1 December 2023 without a ticket, but with the intention of travelling to Texas, USA.

He attended the check-in desk and placed one of his bags on the baggage belt, and advised the check-in employee not to touch it or she would get hurt.

Another employee spoke to the defendant and asked him what was in the bag, to which Vences replied “C-4” – a type of plastic explosive.

Police were alerted and Vences’ bags were searched, at which point a black handled locking knife with a 6cm blade was located.

The 39-year-old, of St Andrews Road, Crawley, was subsequently arrested and charged with possession of a bladed article in public.

Vences initially denied the charge but later changed his plea to guilty, and at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday 10 September he was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment.

Detective Sergeant Ian Warncken, of Gatwick CID, said: “An incident such as this has the potential to spark a major security alert at an airport, where tens of thousands of people pass through every day. The safety of the public is our number one priority and we will respond to these incidents accordingly.

“This case should serve as a reminder for passengers to familiarise themselves with airport security legislation, and to double check their luggage before they arrive at the airport.

“We appreciate there may be some cases where passengers are genuinely unaware of the rules or have not checked their bags thoroughly enough. However, it is a criminal offence to possess any locking knife without an extremely good reason for having it, and forgetting to check your bags is not a sufficient defence.”

Find out more on how to prepare for security at Gatwick Airport here.