An Indiana man tried to board a flight from Newark International Airport to Chicago with a Soviet-style AK-47 assault rifle and ammunition in his checked baggage, according to police and federal officials.
Port Authority police spokesman Joe Pentangelo says Southwest Airlines notified officers of the discovery as the 23-year-old man tried to go through security in Terminal A on Thursday night.
Pentangelo says the Valparaiso resident told officers he had purchased the weapon, which was in a soft case, and 70 rounds of ammunition, for recreational purposes. But the Transportation Security Administration says he didn't properly pack or declare the weapon at the time of check-in.
Police arrested the traveler in the terminal on a state weapons charge after they said he failed to produce the required legal documents.
He's being held on $50,000 bail, charged with unlawful possession of an assault firearm and large-capacity ammunition magazines.
Port Authority police spokesman Joe Pentangelo says Southwest Airlines notified officers of the discovery as the 23-year-old man tried to go through security in Terminal A on Thursday night.
Pentangelo says the Valparaiso resident told officers he had purchased the weapon, which was in a soft case, and 70 rounds of ammunition, for recreational purposes. But the Transportation Security Administration says he didn't properly pack or declare the weapon at the time of check-in.
Police arrested the traveler in the terminal on a state weapons charge after they said he failed to produce the required legal documents.
He's being held on $50,000 bail, charged with unlawful possession of an assault firearm and large-capacity ammunition magazines.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
