SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A co-pilot on a Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis to San Francisco that was arrested upon landing at San Francisco International Airport has been identified. According to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Rustom Bhagwagar, a 34-year-old Florida resident, was arrested at SFO Saturday night for sex crimes against a child.
According to law enforcement, Bhagwagar has been booked on five counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years old. He is being held in lieu of $5 million in bail, sheriff’s department officials said on Monday.
Contra Costa County Officer of the Sheriff Investigation Division have been investigating Bhagwagar since April and had secured a Ramey arrest warrant for him prior to Saturday’s arrest.
Following the arrest, in which at least 10 officers were seen charging the cockpit of the plane, initial reports indicated the charges were related to child sexual abuse material.
Passengers aboard the flight posted video online showing federal agents walking up the aisle of the plane.
A Delta spokesperson on Sunday deferred comment to law enforcement. The arrest was made as part of an investigation by the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, a Homeland Security Investigations official told local affilliate KRON4.
HIS assisted, the spokesperson said, but federal agents were on the scene primarily to give Contra Costa County deputies access to the plane to make the arrest. The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains ongoing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
