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| Britain |
| Sudanese Man Arrested at London Airport |
| 2004-01-14 |
| A Sudanese native was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday on suspicion of possessing ammunition, police said. Oppression! Don’t you know possessing ammo is part of his religion? The 45-year-old man had arrived on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Washington D.C. and was in transit, a spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police said. Somebody please have a chat with the baggage screeners in D.C. He was arrested under Section 1 of the Firearms Act after passing through a security check, the spokesman said. He did not describe the suspected ammunition but said it was undergoing forensic tests. A spokesman for BAA PLC, which operates Heathrow, said the man was trying to board a flight to Dubai when he was arrested. Isn’t carrying ammo to the Middle East a bit redundent? |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #3 New from BBC, maybe it's not a yawner: A Sudanese man stopped at Heathrow Airport for allegedly carrying five bullets in his coat has been held under the Terrorism Act. The 45-year-old man, who flew into Heathrow from Washington DC in transit to Dubai, was initially arrested under the Firearms Act. He was taken to a central London station to be interviewed by anti-terror police on Wednesday night. The British airline pilots' union, Balpa, says "questions will be asked" about security at the Washington end. The man was questioned earlier by Heathrow police, while forensic experts examined the ammunition that security staff said they found on him. Passengers who came in on the same flight said the man told staff he did not realise the items were in his coat pocket. Next thing you know, it won't be his coat either. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-1-14 3:37:55 PM |
| #2 A few more details from Fox News: Police officials told Fox News that there were five rounds of suspected ammunition found with the passenger. The man was being held under Section 1 of Britain's Firearms Act because officials are not yet treating the incident as something terrorist-related. Officials told Fox News that they're trying to determine whether the ammunition was live or something as harmless as a shell casing. They're trying to determine whether the man had the suspected ammunition with him when he boarded the plane at Dulles International Airport in Virginia or whether he got them at Heathrow. Officials were also looking into an unconfirmed report that the man had overstayed in the United States and was being deported on the Virgin Atlantic flight. Police sources said the man is not a known terror suspect. Yawn. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-1-14 12:23:37 PM |
| #1 More like carrying coal to Newcastle... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-1-14 12:11:59 PM |