Federal authorities have charged a Carbon County man with hiding an explosive in a suitcase at Lehigh Valley International Airport, which led to the terminal being closed for greater than two hours this week.
Transportation Security Administration staff at LVIA discovered what they believed to be an explosive Monday in a checked rolling suitcase of passenger Mark Muffley, and contacted the FBI, authorities stated.
Muffley, 40, of Lansford, was arrested later Monday at his house, an FBI spokesperson stated Wednesday. The spokesperson stated Muffley remained in custody, and a listening to was scheduled for Thursday afternoon by way of videoconference.
According to court docket information:
Muffley was taking Allegiant Flight 201 to Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida. Agents discovered a round gadget with a granular powder wrapped in paper and clear plastic wrap and with a “quick fuse” hidden within the lining of Muffley’s bag.
The granular powder was “suspected to be a mixture of flash powder and the dark granulars that are used in commercial grade fireworks.” The baggage additionally contained a can of butane, a lighter, a pipe with white powder residue, a wi-fi drill with cordless batteries, and two GFCI shops taped along with black tape.
LVIA safety cameras recorded Muffley being dropped off about 10:45 a.m. Monday on the airport by an individual driving a white Chevrolet Equinox.
About 11:40 a.m., after the Transportation Security Administration initially found the explosive, Muffley was paged over the airport’s public handle system to the airport’s safety desk.
About 5 minutes later, safety cameras recorded Muffley leaving the airport’s lower-level exit.
The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority was notified of the bundle at 11:18 a.m. and the west facet of the Main Terminal was closed as a precautionary measure, spokesperson Colin Riccobon stated Monday.
Airport operations continued through the onsite investigation, which along with the FBI was performed by airport police, Allentown and Bethlehem bomb squads and TSA. The suspicious bundle was faraway from the airport, and the west facet of the Main Terminal reopened at 1:50 p.m.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”