Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Iraqi Man in Security Scare at LAX

I have no idea what this guy was up to, but it's very suspicious, to say the least.

US Airways flight diverted to Vegas after security incident in LA
An Iraqi immigrant with a suspicious device stuffed into a body cavity was detained at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday and a Philadelphia-bound jetliner was diverted to Las Vegas because his luggage was aboard, authorities said.

The device and the luggage were cleared by bomb squads in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

"There never was a threat," said Larry Fetters, security director at Los Angeles International Airport for the federal Transportation Security Administration.

Fadhel Al-Maliki, 35, of Atlantic City, N.J., was held for a mental evaluation and for a possible immigration violation, federal officials said.

Al-Maliki is a permanent legal resident who came to the United States in 1994.

He had flown into Los Angeles from Philadelphia on Monday and was booked for a Tuesday return flight when he was chosen for extra security screening around 5:30 a.m. at Terminal One, which houses US Airways, America West and Southwest Airlines.

He triggered an alert during the secondary screening and immediately told screeners about the device he was carrying, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

"He initially said it was therapeutic," she said.

The device had a wire and what may have been a magnet concealed in his rectum, federal officials said.

It did not contain any explosives, Eimiller said.

Al-Maliki said he had flown to Los Angeles for a visit but details were unclear, Eimiller said.
Therapeutic magnets in the rectum? No clue what that might be about. Though I find it a bit odd the guy flew cross-country on Monday and was retuning early Tuesday morning.

More at Riehl World View, Michelle Malkin, and Hot Air.

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