A sergeant of the Civil Guard stationed in Teruel who was off duty arrested a man in mid-flight, as the alleged perpetrator of several crimes of sexual assault, who had made non-consensual touching of the crew personnel.
It was in the middle of a flight between Madrid and the coastal city of Cancun, in Mexico, when the aircraft commander requested the presence of any law enforcement officer who could be present among the 400 passengers on board. The reason for his request was that there was a man who had caused altercations with the crew and the rest of the passengers.
In response to his call, two Benemérita agents appeared in the cabin, to whom the commander explained that there was a person who had touched the crew personnel and showed an aggressive attitude, to the point of uttering death threats.
Furthermore, as stated in its statement by the General Directorate of the Civil Guard, the commander had activated all the aircraft’s internal protocols prior to his request for help, and was even considering requesting a forced landing.
It was then that Sergeant Felipe Vilas, stationed in Valderrobles (Teruel), requested some time to avoid this detour and asked to speak with the perpetrator of the events in order for him to stop his attitude.
Once he located the troublesome passenger, the sergeant identified himself as a civil guard. Without saying a word, this person lunged at the agents, so he was immobilized with zip ties provided by the crew themselves.
When they landed in Mexico after five hours with the detainee in custody, the Mexican authorities proceeded to arrest him.