Solved case · 1984
Also known as Attempted kidnapping of Umaru Dikko, 1984 · Stansted diplomatic crate incident
The short answer
In 1984, Nigerian agents abducted exiled former minister Umaru Dikko from a London street and attempted to smuggle him out of the country in a crate via Stansted Airport; the plot was uncovered before the plane departed and four men were later convicted.
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Suggest coverage for Dikko affairUmaru Dikko was a former Nigerian transport minister and brother-in-law of President Shehu Shagari. After a 1983 military coup led by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, the new government accused Dikko of embezzling billions of dollars in oil revenue. Dikko fled to London, where he settled and became a public critic of the Buhari administration.
Nigerian security service agents, led by former Nigerian Army Major Mohammed Yusufu, traveled to London to organize an operation to seize Dikko and return him to Nigeria. Alexander Barak, described as an alleged former Israeli Mossad agent, was hired to lead the team, which rented an apartment on Cromwell Road under the pretense of being refugees from the new regime. Dikko was located and surveilled at his home on Porchester Terrace. Levi-Arie Shapiro, an Israeli anesthetist and intensive care director at HaSharon Hospital, was recruited to sedate Dikko and insert a breathing tube so he could be transported unconscious inside a crate.
On 3 July 1984, an empty Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 arrived at Stansted Airport, with the pilot stating it was there to collect diplomatic baggage from the Nigerian High Commission. Nigerian security guards aboard identified themselves and said they were protecting the baggage; this was reported to Scotland Yard's Special Branch. The next day, Dikko was abducted outside his home while walking and driven away in a van; he was then drugged unconscious by Shapiro. The abduction was witnessed by Dikko's secretary, Elizabeth Hayes, who alerted authorities.
Dikko and Shapiro were placed in one crate, while Barak and Felix Abitbol occupied a second crate. The crates lacked the proper diplomatic documentation and were not labeled as diplomatic bags as required under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Customs officials, already alerted by an all-ports warning, were therefore able to lawfully open the crates and rescue Dikko, who was found uninjured and taken to a hospital.
Seventeen men were arrested in connection with the plot. Four were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of 10 to 14 years: Shapiro, Barak, Abitbol, and Yusufu. All four were released after serving between six and eight and a half years and were quietly deported. In apparent retaliation, two British engineers in Nigeria were arrested and sentenced to 14 years for allegedly stealing a private jet; their convictions were later overturned and they were released after 25 months.
The British government expelled two members of the Nigerian High Commission, including the High Commissioner, and diplomatic relations between the UK and Nigeria were broken off for two years. Nigeria's extradition request for Dikko was refused. The Israeli government denied involvement in the plot. Dikko later returned to Nigeria and formed a political party, the Solidarity Group of Nigeria.
Nigerian government overthrown in a military coup led by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari; Dikko is accused of embezzlement and flees to London.
Umaru Dikko is spotted and followed to his home on Porchester Terrace in London by the surveillance team.
An empty Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 arrives at Stansted Airport, with the crew claiming it is there to collect diplomatic baggage.
Dikko is abducted outside his home, drugged, and placed in a crate; his secretary Elizabeth Hayes witnesses the abduction and alerts authorities. Customs officials open the crates at Stansted and rescue Dikko.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Former Nigerian transport minister who was abducted in London and placed in a crate in an attempt to smuggle him back to Nigeria.[3]
Alleged former Israeli Mossad agent hired to lead the kidnapping operation; convicted and sentenced to 10-14 years.[3]
Member of the kidnapping team who occupied the second crate with Barak; convicted and sentenced to 10-14 years.[3]
Israeli anesthetist recruited to drug Dikko and keep him alive inside the crate; convicted and sentenced to 10-14 years.[3]
Former Nigerian Army major who led the kidnapping team and drove the abduction van; convicted and sentenced to 10-14 years.[3]
Dikko's secretary, who witnessed the abduction and notified authorities.[3]
From the record
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