VZCZCXRO8447
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHFN #0456 3291239
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 251239Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2994
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

S E C R E T FREETOWN 000456 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2019 
TAGS: ASEC EAIR PINS PTER SL
SUBJECT: BOMB SCARE AT AIRPORT HIGHLIGHTS SECURITY CONCERNS 
 
Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Amy LeMar for reasons 1.4 (b/ 
d) 
 
¶1. (C) On November 8, an "electronic cigar" was found on an 
inbound British Midlands (BMI) flight from London. The cigar, 
found by a cleaning crew once on the ground in Freetown, 
caused alarm because it was found hidden beneath a blanket 
under a seat, with wires protruding from either end. 
Breaching numerous security protocols, the cigar was turned 
over the BMI staff on the ground and the flight then departed 
for London several hours later. The cigar was eventually 
given to the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) stationed at Lungi, 
but after a considerable delay. It was later buried in sand 
behind the SLP post. 
 
¶2. (S) The cigar was confirmed by British SOCA and SIS 
representatives to be clean, though the passenger it was 
connected to raised some concerns: Abdeljelil Ayeb, a 
Tunisian banker (DOB 02/06/1951, Ppt. T118496), traveled 
alone from Heathrow with no baggage, and did not arrive at 
the helipad for his scheduled flight from Lungi to Freetown. 
It was later discovered that he was a guest of President 
Koroma's, and visiting Sierra Leone only for an audience with 
the President to discuss investment. According to British and 
Sierra Leonean contacts, Ayeb is not a person of interest to 
either intelligence services. 
 
¶3. (S) While this incident was benign, it raises significant 
concerns regarding the safety at both involved airports - 
Heathrow and Lungi. British sources wonder how the e-cigar 
was allowed on-board in the first-place, and why no one 
noticed or red-flagged Ayeb's lack of luggage. On the Sierra 
Leonean side, the BMI representatives breached protocol by 
not immediately turning the cigar over to authorities and 
failing to inform their own flight crew: both activities 
allowed the flight to return to London on-schedule, but at 
the expense of a thorough search of the plane, which would 
have been required had the incident been reported in a timely 
fashion. Sierra Leonean contacts are also concerned about the 
confusion that ensued once the cigar was handed over to the 
SLP, indicating that they panicked and did not follow their 
own standard operating procedures for a potential incendiary 
device. 
 
¶4. (C) Comment: The British have reported the incident to 
their own headquarters, while the Sierra Leoneans assembled a 
high-level delegation of National Security Council 
Coordinating Group members to visit and review the overall 
security conditions at Lungi on November 19. Though the cigar 
proved to be benign, this incident reveals how ill-equipped 
the Sierra Leoneans would be in the face of a more sinister 
threat, and that the international airlines wield 
considerable autonomy in decision-making, at times to the 
detriment of regulations and safety standards. Once compared 
to an "outlaw town" in the Old West, Lungi Airport continues 
to be a significant achilles heel in the Sierra Leonean 
security apparatus: corruption is common, all-access passes 
are cheap and readily available, and the only authority 
figures are either on the take or ineffective. For any 
criminal or terrorist looking for a location through which to 
transit illicit goods or worse to European destinations, the 
Lungi Airport may be ideal. End Comment. 
 
 
FEDZER