Thief pillages plane via toilet

A man stole almost £150,000 on a flight in the Caribbean after sneaking into the cargo hold via the lavatory.

The mid-air theft took place on an Air Antilles flight which was carrying 1.2 million euros for the Brink's Security Company, reports the Daily Mail.

Pretending to be ill, the man spent the majority of the 40 minute flight, from the French island of Guadeloupe to the Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin, in the lavatory.

In there, he succeeded in removing several wall panels to gain access to the hold in the rear of the ATR-42 plane, say police.

It wasn't until the plane landed that it was discovered that 172,000 euros (£148,000) were missing from the cargo.

Shortly before landing, the unnamed man, who was travelling with a woman, asked a hostess for an ambulance to meet him on the tarmac, witnesses said.

When the ambulance arrived, the man said he felt suddenly better and walked out of the airport without having to go through the normal security checks. Police have been unable to trace him.

The alarm was raised when cleaners discovered bundles of notes in the lavatory cubicle, and police questioned the woman in the baggage arrival hall.

She claimed she did not know the whereabouts of the money, which is still missing. Her companion has been identified as a French national living in Guadeloupe, but has still not been found by police.