An Egyptian migrant reportedly swallowed a vape battery in a bid to avoid deportation hours before a scheduled flight.
The man, described as a foreign national offender, was due to board a private flight with other deportees to Albania on Thursday ahead of a transfer back to his native Egypt.
However while being held in segregated detention in the days leading up to the flight, he was given a vape.
The immigrant swallowed its lithium battery and was taken to hospital where he was successfully retreated and returned to detention, meaning the flight was cancelled.
Officials are now investigating the circumstances around the incident, with the man involved said to have a history of disruption during removal attempts.
A spokesperson for Mitie, the Home Office contractor that manages overseas deportations, told The Guardian: ‘This incident is currently being investigated.
‘At this point, there is no evidence to suggest any wrongdoing or breach of procedure by our colleagues. Our priority remains the safety and wellbeing of those in our care.’
The cost of cancelling the flight to Albania is currently unknown, but it is reported that chartering private planes for Home Office deportation purposes can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Most deportation flights land in Albania, before flying to long-haul African destinations like Nigeria and Ghana.
An Egyptian migrant reportedly swallowed a vape battery in a bid to avoid deportation hours before a scheduled flight
The flight carrying the migrant was due to continue to Egypt especially for him.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘Disruptive behaviour will not succeed, and we will be continuing with deportation action as soon as it is possible to do so.’
Sources at Mitie told the publication that it adheres to robust health and safety policies and procedures to ensure that safety of colleagues and individuals in its care.
Disruption on deportation flights is far from uncommon, with Home Office officials offering unruly passengers cash to keep them in check.
Last year, migrant sex offender Hadush Kebatu was handed a £500 after threatening to disrupt his deportation from the UK to Ethiopia.
Kebatu was jailed after sexually assaulting a schoolgirl and a woman while living in a taxpayer-funded migrant hotel in Epping.
But he was mistakenly freed by prison staff and spent two days as a fugitive. When he was re-arrested, the Ethiopian’s deportation was fast-tracked.
While ‘forcible’ returns do not usually involve payments, removal teams can offer discretionary payments to ensure things run smoothly.
Kebatu was offered the money after concerns that the flight not going ahead would cost thousands of pounds and might lead to expensive legal action.
The payment avoided a ‘slower, more expensive process for the taxpayer, which would have included detention, a new flight and potentially fighting subsequent legal claims,’ the prime minister’s spokesman said at the time.
The Daily Mail has reached out for further comment.
