Young Asian's 'unbelievable' disguise as old white man on flight to Canada

A YOUNG Asian man who boarded an Air Canada flight in Hong Kong elaborately disguised as an elderly white male is seeking refugee status in Canada, in what border officials are calling an "unbelievable case of concealment".

An internal intelligence alert issued by the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) before-and-after photographs and describes how the man boarded the flight in Hong Kong on 29 October wearing a remarkable silicone mask to make him look like an elderly man.

The passenger was seen at the start of the flight as an "elderly Caucasian male who appeared to have young-looking hands", the CBSA bulletin said.

However, the reports states that, later in the flight, "the subject attended the washroom and emerged an Asian-looking male that appeared to be in his early-20s".

After landing in Canada, Border Services officers escorted the man off the plane where he "proceeded to make a claim for refugee protection".

The bulletin adds: "The subject initially claimed to be in possession of one bag; however, flight crew approached the BSOs with two additional pieces of luggage which were believed to belong to the subject. One bag contained the subject's personal clothing items while the second contained a pair of gloves.

"The third contained a 'disguise kit' which consisted of a silicone-type head and neck mask of an elderly Caucasian male, a brown leather cap, glasses and a thin brown cardigan."

The man put on the disguise for the officers who "noted he very much resembled an elderly Caucasian man, complete with mimicking the movements of an elderly person.

"The subject admitted at this time that he had boarded the flight with the mask on and had removed it several hours later."

The bulletin, which carried the headline "Unbelievable Case of Concealment", said information was received by Air Canada Corporate security regarding a possible impostor.

It stated that the man, who has not been identified, later admitted to officials that he had boarded the flight with the mask on and had removed it several hours later. It states they believe the man and another man performed a boarding pass swap.

"It is believed that the subject and an actual United States Citizen passenger (whose date of birth is 1955) performed a boarding pass swap, with the subject using an Aeroplan card as identification to board the flight," the alert said.

Aeroplan is a credit card where card holders can earn frequent flyer miles.

The government official said a US passport was also involved.

Chris McCluskey, a spokesman for public safety minister Vic Toews, said a man was in detention and the matter is now before Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board.

Air Canada also confirmed a passenger on board flight AC018 had been met by border services officials in Vancouver.

"It should be noted that there are multiple identity checks before departure at the Hong Kong international airport, including Chinese government-run Hong Kong passport control, which Hong Kong originating passengers must undergo," Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah said.

John Babcock, a spokesman for Canada's transport minister, declined to release details but said airlines have the responsibility to verify the identity of all passengers who appear to be 18 years of age or older.

"That means air carriers are supposed to look at a passenger's entire face to determine if they appear to be over 18 and, if so, compare their physical appearance with their travel documents," Mr Babcock said.