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The Elmwood Park traveler claimed a friend had given him the suitcase that he checked with the airline before attempting to board a flight to Istanbul late Wednesday night, said Lisa Farbstein of the Transportation Security Administration.
An alarm sounded as the checked bag went through the screening process, Farbstein said. A search turned up the gun parts inside the weights, which she said were packed in a box.
Passengers can travel with firearms only in checked baggage and if they're properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter, Farbstein noted.
Firearms must be unloaded in a hard-sided locked case that's packed separately from ammunition, she said. The locked case must be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.
Port Authority police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials were alerted and reported to the TSA checked baggage room, Farbstein said.
PAPD officers interviewed the man, who claimed that a friend gave him the luggage to transport to Turkey and that he "did not know that the firearm parts were inside," she said.
He was eventually released.
“This was an excellent catch on the part of our TSA team,” said Thomas Carter, the TSA’s federal security director for New Jersey. “Clearly the individual who packed the luggage knew that firearm parts were not to be transported or else they would not have attempted to conceal them in the way that they were."
TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website: Transporting Firearms and Ammunition (TSA.gov).
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Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into the thousands of dollars, depending on various circumstances, Farbstein said. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits.
You can find the penalties here: Civil Enforcement (TSA.gov)
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