Catch him if you can: Man arrested for impersonating Lufthansa pilot

48-year-old Mahbubani allegedly donned the uniform of a Lufthansa pilot in order to fool airport workers. Picture: YouTube.com

48-year-old Mahbubani allegedly donned the uniform of a Lufthansa pilot in order to fool airport workers. Picture: YouTube.com

Published Nov 22, 2019

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We don't know whether to applaud or be disgusted in Rajan Mahbubani's actions. In fact, we'll admit that we're a little in awe after hearing how he managed to con airport staff with the ultimate hack.

Taking a page out of Frank Abagnale's book, Mahbubani managed to con his way into getting preferential treatment. 

For those who don't know, Abagnale is the guy who the book "Catch Me If You Can" is based. The bio was turned into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio a few years later.

According to  CNN, 48-year-old Mahbubani allegedly donned the uniform of a Lufthansa pilot in order to fool airport workers into letting him bypass security lines and get seat upgrades.

He managed to get away with it until earlier this week when he was arrested at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. 

Dressed in a pilot's uniform, Mahbubani was apprehended at the departure gate as he was about to board an AirAsia flight from Delhi to Kolkata, police said.

Delhi airport's deputy commissioner of police Sanjay Bhatia, told CNN that a Lufthansa employee had alerted airport security that a "suspected passenger was impersonating a captain of Lufthansa airline."

Apparently, AirAsia had called Lufthansa to verify his identity.

Mahbubani, who is a New Delhi resident, was detained and handed over to police. He was found carrying a fake Lufthansa pilot ID that he used to gain privileges at airports.

"After his arrest, Mahbubani told us he used to shoot YouTube and TikTok videos on aviation and had obtained the Lufthansa fake ID card in Thailand," Bhatia said.

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