'Extremely dangerous' wanted man spotted on Air New Zealand flight
A wanted man with swastika face tattoos has somehow managed to get on an Air New Zealand plane, with one of the bewildered passengers reporting the situation to police.
The man, believed to be 27-year-old Hendrix Rawiri Jury, is wanted by New Zealand Police for a shooting incident in Christchurch last week on August 30, where another man was shot in the legs.
On their Facebook page, police considered the man to be "extremely dangerous" and warned people not to approach him.
The passenger who recognised the man, and did not want to be identified out of fear of retaliation, was onboard an Air New Zealand flight from Christchurch to Napier the afternoon of the shooting, Stuff reports.
He said seeing the man was "quite intimidating".
Jury has distinctive facial tattoos, including a swastika between his eyes flanked by the Nazi salute “sieg heil”, as well as a bulldog on his forehead and what appears to be the word “mongrel” across the lower half of his face.
He also has two more swastikas above his eyebrows.
Jury was reportedly asked to remove his patched jacket, leaving him sitting shirtless for the duration of the flight.
The passenger was shocked the man managed to get on the plane in the first place.
“We were quite astounded that somebody could get on the plane," they said.
How did he get on this plane? How did the police not see him walking through the airport? pic.twitter.com/56UntjspZ6
— Winston Peters (@winstonpeters) September 8, 2022
"I would have thought Air New Zealand knew he was getting on the plane as he would have checked in somewhere.”
The man had apparently quickly left the plane when it arrived in Napier and appeared to be hiding in the airport toilets before three other men in Mongrel Mob regalia arrived looking for him, Stuff reported.
“The behaviour of his mates at the airport was quite frightening,” said the passenger.
They were also surprised there hadn’t been more of a police or security presence when the plane landed.
Once police posted images of the wanted man on September 5, the passenger thought, "that’s the guy [from the plane]" and contacted police.
It is unclear how Jury was able to board a flight and whether the airport had been notified about him.
The victim in last week’s shooting has since been discharged from hospital and is recovering at home.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
