The Ministry of Interior told Daily News Egypt on Tuesday that the hijacker of the EgyptAir flight that landed in Cyprus has a criminal record, with crimes such as forgery, burglary, drug dealing, and impersonation.
Sources inside the ministry revealed the hijacker to be Seif Eddin Mostafa, 59, who works as an accountant.
“Mostafa has a criminal record. The ministry archives reveal that he was sentenced to one year in prison for forgery. He escaped during the events of the 25 January Revolution but he surrendered himself to police in 2014. He was later released in 2015,” ministry sources clarified.
Following his release, he was granted permission to travel domestically, according to the sources. Therefore, he was able to hijack the plane that took off from Borg Al-Arab in Alexandria, as its destination was Cairo International Airport.
The plane was hijacked on Tuesday morning after departing from Borg Al-Arab airport. Mostafa claimed to be wearing an explosive belt, forcing pilot Amr Al-Gammal to reroute to Laranca, Cyprus instead of the original destination of Cairo.
There has yet to be an official confirmation of the motives behind the hijacking.
