An Overly Friendly Seatmate On Your Flight Can Get You In Trouble – This Viral Posts Advises People What To Look Out For

Some people don't want to be friends - they just want to use you...

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• January 31, 2022

Traveling can be boring sometimes, especially if you are traveling alone or for work. Long waits at the airports, the boarding procedures, long flights… they all make you want to reach out to the nearest person, chat a bit and make the time go faster.

And most people are like that – they need company. But one small percentage is not trying to make friends – they are looking for a mark.

Friendly is okay; overly friendly is a cause for alarm. If you are approached by someone asking you to do him some strange favor, politely say no.

Even if it is something benign, it may have serious implications. On a flight, you can never be too safe.

Even if there are severe laws (so strict that you can't even joke about them), there is always something you can do to improve your safety and security when flying. Unigwe Chidalu, a Nigerian translator, journalist, and blogger, recently re-shared some information on how to be safer on aircraft.

Her Twitter thread tells the story of how a woman came dangerously near to becoming an accessory to a drug-smuggling attempt. Read her story, and take notes. They may come in handy when you are traveling.

Be careful if someone is acting especially friendly with you on a plane.

Translator and journalist Unigwe Chidalu from Lagos, Nigeria shared her experience:

She was sitting next to a friendly old lady on a flight to Dubai

The old lady started feeling sick when the pilot announced the plane was reaching its destination.

and started calling OP "her daughter."

One kind man advised Unigwe Chidalu to make clear to everyone that she and the old lady are not together...

Which she did

Old lady asked OP to carry her handbag...

OP refused and exited the plane

At the airport, OP witnessed the old lady's miraculous recovery...

Old lady started calling OP "her daughter" again.

So the airport police took her in for questioning.

Luckily, the evidence showed that she was innocent...

OP has learned her lesson...

This interesting and exciting story was initially posted on several different websites, but it really took off when a Twitter user Chidalu shared it on his page, and he got more than 9,300 likes and 7,400 retweets. Here are some of the most interesting comments:

Some people were a bit suspicious:

How did the old lady manage to get the drugs past the baggage control?

Other people shared their experiences:

And this is quite common.

It happens everywhere

Don't do it!

Unfortunately, this is so true...

Many commenters were questioning the authenticity of the story, but the truth is that criminals often prey on unsuspecting people to help them with their unlawful actions. It is not always smuggling drugs across the border, but it is pretty often.

There are cases of criminals even staging lotteries with trips to exotic countries as main prizes. They would then use unsuspecting “winners” as drug mules.

They would provide them with suitcases (often with drugs in secret compartments) or sealed envelopes to give to the “travel agent” in their destination… The list of their methods is quite long. So, be careful out there.

Damjan