British tourist Davide Fogli removed from plane over toy bomb on flight from Bali
Passenger said he bought it from a toy shop to take to a New Year's Eve party
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A British tourist was removed from a flight to Bali because he had a toy bomb, Indonesian officials say.
Davide Fogli was questioned for a day by airport security officials and police.
The 48-year-old said he had bought the item, which had a timer attached to a number of sticks that resemble dynamite, at a toy shop and intended to take it to a New Year’s Eve party.
Mr Fogli said he declared the toy to officials at security in the airport and asked if he could bring it on-board the Qantas aeroplane.
After being told he could not, he left it at the security check point.
But Mr Fogli was ordered to be removed from the flight by general manager Trikora Jarjo, and questioned further.
“This was a very realistic toy and in the current climate, we wanted to know more about his plans,” said an official.
The flight bound for Doha was preparing for take-off, before it was ordered to return to the terminal so Mr Fogli and his female companion could be removed.
Yusfandri Hona, head of the Denpasar airport authority, said: “We are now on yellow alert.
“Even though it’s a toy, there’s a possibility it could be used as a threat to cause problems.
“He should never have attempted to bring the toy with him, with current heightened security measures.
“We have so far his statement that it was for personal use, but we have to confirm that, we can’t just take his word for it.”
Police went to the toy shop Mr Fogli claimed to have bought the toy bomb from, where they found other toys exactly the same.
“We have cleared the passenger of any suspicions about the intent for why he wanted the item on his flight, other than it was a toy he bought,” Mr Trikora said.
Mr Fogli will not be facing any charges.
The Indonesian island is already on high alert for possible terror attacks on western and Russian tourists during its peak season.
Security was increased after a Russian passenger plane was blown up over the Sinai desert last month.
More than 200 people were killed in 2002 after a bomb attack by Islamic extremists.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments