Minecraft hoaxer caused chaos at schools across the UK
A teenager has admitted making bomb threats to thousands of schools and a United Airlines flight travelling from the UK to San Francisco.
George Duke-Cohan, 19, sparked chaos with his mass hoax campaign which led to 400 schools being evacuated in March this year.
Duke-Cohan was arrested but he then sent a mass email to schools in the UK and the US claiming that pipe bombs had been planted on the premises.
The fake bomb threats were revealed at the time to be part of a Minecraft gamer feud.
Threatening emails were spoofed to look like they had been sent by a gaming network known as VeltPvP – a Minecraft player-versus-player server.
Up to 24,000 emails to schools across the UK, including the North East, London, Bristol and Humberside.
On 9 August, the hacker group known as ‘Apophis Squad’ claimed on their Twitter page that flight UAL 949 had been grounded due to their actions.
National Crime Agency investigators working with the FBI identified that Duke-Cohan made bomb threats to the US-bound flight via phone calls to San Francisco Airport and their Bureau police.
In a recording of one of the phone calls which was made while the plane was in the air, he posed as a worried father claiming his daughter contacted him from the flight to say it had been hijacked by gunmen, one of whom had a bomb.
On arrival in San Francisco the plane was the subject of a significant security operation in a quarantined area of the airport.
All 295 passengers had to remain on board causing disruption to onward journeys and financial loss to the airline.
In an operation supported by Hertfordshire Police, Duke-Cohan was arrested by NCA officers at his home in Watford, Herts, on 31 August.
Officers recovered multiple electronic devices belonging to him, the use of which was in contravention to the pre-charge bail conditions imposed on him.
Duke-Cohan, of Watford, admitted three counts of making hoax bomb threats at Luton Magistrates’ Court.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Marc Horsfall said: ‘George Duke-Cohan made a series of bomb threats that caused serious worry and inconvenience to thousands of people, not least an international airline.
‘He carried out these threats hidden behind a computer screen for his own enjoyment, with no consideration for the effect he was having on others.
‘Despite being arrested and having conditions imposed restricting his use of technology, he persistently broke those conditions to continue his wave of violent threats.
‘Law enforcement take such offences extremely seriously.
‘This investigation proves that operating online does not offer offenders anonymity. We will identify you and you will be brought before the courts.’
Duke-Cohan was remanded in custody ahead of at Luton Crown Court on 21 September.
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