A woman was arrested while trying to board a plane with a loaded pistol at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents saw the weapon inside the passenger’s luggage on the monitor of the X-ray machine and immediately alerted the Port Authority Police (PANYNJ), yesterday.
The .
caliber revolver was loaded with five bullets. The woman was questioned and later arrested. His name was not released, only that he is a Louisiana resident, reported NBC News.
According to Robert Duffy, federal director of TSA security at that airport, the number of people who officers have stopped with weapons at checkpoints has increased compared to last year.
“Our officers have already stopped more than twice as many weapons at our checkpoints this year than last year Duffy said. “No one should bring a gun to a checkpoint because they are not allowed on planes. (…) If a person wishes to transport his firearm for a flight, he must pack it correctly to place it in checked baggage. That starts with making sure it’s unloaded.”
Another unusual discovery was made at New York’s JFK airport last week, when authorities spotted a live cat inside a checked suitcase.
And earlier this month a female passenger was detained after Customs and Border Protection authorities ( CBP) found cocaine inside his wheelchair, upon landing at JFK airport from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.