The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:42 PM
ICE Detainee Who Escaped Immigration Agents At New York City Airport Tuesday Made Move During Meal Break
Mohamadou Lamine Mbacke, a 31-year-old Senegalese native described as a “violent felon” by law enforcement sources that spoke to the New York Post, was scheduled to get on a flight to Dakar at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4.
Mbacke’s handcuffs were removed by ICE officers before his escape as he was going through a security checkpoint, the sources added.
ABC 7 reported the officers got Mbacke something to eat as they waited for the flight to leave, and he vanished when they turned their backs for a few moments.
Instead of immediately notifying police that oversee the airport, the agents went around the terminal themselves, showing airport employees pictures of Mbacke and asking if they had seen anything, the station added.
Police weren’t tipped off until nearly two hours later, and surveillance video showed Mbacke leaving the busy airport in a taxi around 9 p.m. local time, ICE said.
“We were notified between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m.” a Port Authority Police Department spokesman told the New York Post.
The apparent mistakes made while trying to find Mbacke drew a sharp rebuke Wednesday from the president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association.