Man arrested on Easyjet flight (From Your Local Guardian)

Man arrested on Easyjet flight

8:50am Thursday 16th February 2012 in News By Matt Watts

A 41-year-old was escorted from a plane by armed police after being arrested for non-payment of court fines.

Franco Romanucci, from Stannet Way, Wallington, was arrested shortly after his Easyjet flight from Amsterdam touched down at Gatwick on February 6.

A witness described how four armed police came on to the flight shortly before passengers started disembarking, showing a warrant to cabin staff and asking where Romanucci was sitting.

Romanucci, who was given a two-year suspended sentence in December 2008 for stealing a £10,000 digger from a building site, was taken to a Sussex police station.

A police spokeswoman said the fine had now been paid.

The arrest took place after Romanucci’s name was flagged up on airport computers as having an outstanding warrant out for his arrest.

Police would not disclose what the unpaid fine was for or from what court order was issued.

Romanucci pleaded guilty to theft and driving without insurance at Lewes Magistrates’ Court after stealing the digger in November 2008 from a building site in East Sussex.

The court heard he was caught thanks to a satellite tracker, which spotted it was mysteriously on the move on the A26 at Newhaven in Sussex.

Romanucci had used bolt croppers to break into a secure site and loaded the digger on to a truck and trailer before driving off in the dead of night, the court was told.

A specialist company paid to monitor expensive machinery alerted the owners that the digger was moving and police were called and made the arrest.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “We can confirm a 41-year-old from Wallington was arrested at Gatwick on February 6.”