An Iraqi immigrant with a suspicious device stuffed into a body cavity was detained at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday and a Philadelphia-bound jetliner was diverted to Las Vegas because his luggage was aboard, authorities said.One question immediately comes to mind. If the individual was stopped and prevented from flying, why were his bags allowed to continue on with the flight?
The device and the luggage were cleared by bomb squads in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
"There never was a threat," said Larry Fetters, security director at Los Angeles International Airport for the federal Transportation Security Administration.
Fadhel Al-Maliki, 35, of Atlantic City, N.J., was held for a mental evaluation and for a possible immigration violation, federal officials said.
Al-Maliki is a permanent legal resident who came to the United States in 1994.
He had flown into Los Angeles from Philadelphia on Monday and was booked for a Tuesday return flight when he was chosen for extra security screening around 5:30 a.m. at Terminal One, which houses US Airways, America West and Southwest Airlines.
He triggered an alert during the secondary screening and immediately told screeners about the device he was carrying, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
"He initially said it was therapeutic," she said.
The device had a wire and what may have been a magnet concealed in his rectum, federal officials said.
It did not contain any explosives, Eimiller said.
Al-Maliki said he had flown to Los Angeles for a visit but details were unclear, Eimiller said.
The terminal remained open during the incident and no takeoffs or landings were affected, but a US Airways jet en route to Philadelphia was diverted because Al-Maliki's checked luggage already had been screened and put aboard the plane.
Others blogging: Michelle Malkin, Jammie Wearing Fool, and Hot Air (who offers a similar exit question).
No comments:
Post a Comment