You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Britain
Man held in airport terror alert
2005-09-23
Police have used a Taser gun to arrest a man under the Terrorism Act and carried out a controlled explosion on a suspect package at Manchester Airport. Officers were called at about 0830 BST and arrested the man after a struggle on the apron, where planes are parked. The BBC understands a man had been seen with a package underneath a plane. Parts of terminals one and two were evacuated and closed, but the airport later reopened and advised passengers to report as normal.

The arrested man, who is of Asian appearance and is understood to speak little English, was taken to a police station in Greater Manchester.
"Asian" being Brit speak for anyone from South Asian continent. Could be Pakistani, Indian, etc.
Officers also recovered a car - believed to belong to the man - for further investigation.

Army bomb disposal units carried out a controlled explosion on the package, reportedly a briefcase or suitcase, with a 600 metre police cordon set up around the area. BBC correspondent Kevin Bocquet watched the controlled explosion from the 11th floor of the airport's car park.

He said: "I could see the suspect suitcase - it was on the middle of a taxi-way surrounded by red cones, on a very, very large area of tarmac. The nearest plane was probably a good 60 or 70 yards away. "They moved one of those remote-controlled devices on top of this suspect suitcase, and then there was a very minor explosion - it was bit like a damp firework going off. "Then the remote-controlled device was moved to one side.

"I saw a man in army uniform - he went out to the suspect suitcase, he bent down, he examined it and then he came back into the terminal building. He didn't appear to be in any particular hurry," he said.
Bomb squad guys never do.
"It looked to me as though it was not something they were particularly concerned about at that stage." Police removed the cordon after about three hours, saying the operation was being scaled down and passengers and staff were allowed back in.
"Nothing to see here, move along"
Posted by:Steve

#1  Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- A man who breached security today at Manchester Airport in northwestern England has been detained under the U.K.'s Mental Health Act, police said. The man abandoned a car near a security checkpoint and ran 200 meters (656 feet) onto the airport's ``apron,'' Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Thomas of the Greater Manchester Police said at a televised news conference in the city.

Officers chased the man to within 60 meters of a plane and a ``violent struggle'' ensued, Thomas said. They used a Taser stun gun, which delivers 50,000-volt charges, to detain the man and a British Army bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion on a briefcase he was carrying, Thomas said. The briefcase contained clothing, papers and a passport, Thomas said. Police later said the man is 31, without providing further identification. The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that he is of Asian appearance and doesn't speak much English.

Initially held under the Terrorism Act, the man was taken to a station in Greater Manchester for questioning, and was also examined by doctors ``to ascertain if he is suffering from an illness,'' Thomas said.
Posted by: Steve   2005-09-23 12:57  

00:00