DOJ seeks extradition of German hijack suspect

The Department of Justice (DOJ) sought yesterday the immediate extradition of a German national whose alleged plan to hijack a Frankfurt-bound airline last October was aborted by airport authorities and is now facing an illegal possession of firearms charge in the Pasay City regional trial court.

State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco wrote Indonesia's Ministry of Justice, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, for the extradition of 46-year-old Klaus Ernst Heinrich Gottschalk who was arrested by Jakarta authorities last Jan. 6, when he slipped out of the country using the southern backdoor.

"May we request that he (Gottschalk) be extradited back to the Philippines the soonest time possible to enable us to continue the prosecution of the cases against him," he wrote, citing the unlawful possession of firearms charge and the alleged corruption of public officials.

As a matter of procedure, and through proper diplomatic channels, the Manila-based DFA, which was furnished with copies of Gottschalk's charge sheet, said the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta and the Consulate General in Manado, Indonesia have asked the judge or the fiscal about plans to pursue the case.

"This request for verification is urgent since the Indonesian authorities are giving the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta and the Consulate in Manado about 24 hours to confirm the request for extradition," Maria Agnes Cervantes of the DFA's intelligence and security services wrote Velasco.

The criminal charges against the German engineer were filed last October. He posted a P120,000 bail for his illegal possession of firearms case and P20,000 more for the corruption offense. Gottschalk faces a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment if found guilty of the charges.

Gottschalk, a native of Hoya, Germany, offered to bribe Customs examiner Danila Reyes and Velasco last Oct. 12 with almost P1 million worth of US dollars, Indonesian rupiah, and Chinese and German currencies.

Gottschalk yielded a disassembled .44 caliber pistol, a plastic receiver of a 9 mm Glock pistol, two 9 mm magazines, a head mask, plastic Glock toy gun, 10 pieces of live 9 mm ammunition, six of .44 caliber, a screw driver and knife when his hand-carried luggage was subjected to X-ray scanning.

"The theory that respondent (Gottschalk) had a plan to hijack the Lufthansa jet was bolstered by the complete head mask; a handful of blue clay and the large amount of money he was carrying. Obviously, the mask would be used to hide his identity during the hijacking. The clay to create the impression that he was carrying a plastic bomb ready to explode in the airliner. The money, to bail him out in case of unexpected hitches in his plan, as his arrest in this case," Velasco wrote.

Reyes claimed the ammunition was neatly hidden in a copper tube intended for a house ornament, while the disassembled parts of the handgun were concealed in various clothes to mislead authorities.