A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Did Cairo Catch Weapons JFK Missed?

An Egyptian-American passenger has been detained at Cairo airport after arriving on an Egypt Air flight from New York with "six metal boxes containing two 9mm pistols, 250 bullets, two swords, and 11 daggers."

The firearms were in checked luggage, but the TSA is saying they were not declared, according to The New York Times. The NYT article seems to suggest that the TSA screening does not check for firearms (which unlike explosives can't harm the flight if in the cargo hold), but not declaring them would still be a violation. It's also a rather risky thing to take into a Middle Eastern airport, even if the TSA at JFK let them through.

Oh, and: two swords and 11 daggers?

UPDATE: Or perhaps two swords, five daggers, and six knives. That clears that up.

1 comment:

A said...

Probably for Hezbollah, now that they're not getting those Scuds.