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Woman strips naked at airport

A 36-year-old woman stripped naked at LF Wade International Airport after she was informed that Customs officers wanted to search her, Magistrates’ Court heard.Loukai Phillips, who was in a public area in the airport’s Customs hall at the time, today pleaded guilty to indecent exposure in a public place.Her lawyer Charles Richardson said the former Bermuda resident “took her clothes off out of frustration”. He described the move as “an impetuous decision”.Mr Richardson said that because of a past association, his client had been strip-searched every time she came through Customs.Crown counsel Auralee Cassidy said Phillips removed all her clothes at the secondary Customs checkpoint at around 7.30pm on August 19, after arriving from London.Phillips, a Bermudian who returned to the Island to close down her bank account, told airport police: “I would never do it again, I’m just tired of being searched.”The Crown asked for a fine, pointing out that children had been present and Phillips had repeatedly used bad language while removing her clothes.The court heard that Phillips said to officers: “If you want to see me naked, you can do it right f***ing here.”Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner told her: “The Bermuda Customs have got a job to do, and one of those is to search you in accordance with the law.”Phillips apologised to the court, and Mr Warner gave her a 12-month conditional discharge.“If you don’t want to be searched, don’t come through Customs,” he told her.