MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

JetSmart: Fate of Argentine national claiming to carry a bomb yet to be decided

Paraguayan prosecutors might hand over the case to Argentine authorities given the aircraft's registration

Paraguayan Prosecutors were still wondering Monday which course of action to take against the Argentine national who was arrested on Sunday when he claimed there was an explosive device in his luggage as he boarded a JetSmart flight bound for Buenos Aires.

“We are assuming the conduct under several penal codes, but we are also going to take into account the place of the event, which took place inside an aircraft with Argentine registration; hence we could hand over the case to the Argentine Judiciary,” Prosecutor Federico Delfino said in a broadcast interview in Asunción.

If the local Prosecutor's Office gets the case, the suspect could be charged with production of common risks, coercion, and serious coercion, in addition to administrative penalties from the National Directorship of Civilian Aeronautics (Dinac) as regulators of the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, which could result in a ban from ever traveling again to and from a Paraguayan air terminal.

After the bomb threat, the Airbus A-320 captain alerted the control tower, thus triggering the security protocol involving airport authorities, the National Police, the Air Force, and JetSmart managers.

Takeoff was suspended and the aircraft was isolated in a security zone. Once the passenger who claimed to be carrying a bomb was arrested, the other travelers and crew were evacuated and their personal belongings were again scrutinized. The presence of any explosives was ruled out in a matter of minutes.

The suspect was identified as Guillermo Bertolotto, an Argentine national aged 58. He was subsequently placed in custody.

Dinac head Nelson Mendoza explained that the flight should have departed at 2.40 pm local time with 142 passengers and 6 crew members. Dinac's Security Manager Lourdes Delvalle said Bertolotto's suitcase was checked “also yielding a negative result.”

”At 18:00 hours (22:00 GMT), the aircraft took off for Buenos Aires,” Dinac also confirmed in a statement.