Posted on 03/07/2007 10:24:02 PM PST by stainlessbanner
An airline employee at Orlando International Airport used his security privileges Monday to sneak a duffel bag containing 13 handguns, an assault rifle and 8 pounds of marijuana aboard a Delta flight to San Juan.
Puerto Rico police arrested Thomas Anthony Munoz, 22, of Kissimmee and confiscated the weapons after he walked off Delta Air Lines Flight 933 on Monday afternoon, carrying a bagful of weapons. It was unclear Tuesday night precisely who notified Puerto Rico authorities at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport near the capital of San Juan, but it's possible that Munoz's arrest was part of a larger gun-running and drug investigation.
A federal official insisted that passengers were never in danger.
More here:Orlando Sentinel
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
That employee, identified in the affidavit only as ZAB, told Munoz he had smuggled guns and drugs to Puerto Rico before. He then offered Munoz $4,000 to $5,000 to do the same, Carrillo wrote in the affidavit. Carrillo went on to describe how the two men planned the deal: On Friday, they met at a convenience store in Kissimmee where ZAB received two wire transfers for $1,800 from a contact in Puerto Rico. The next day, they returned to the same store and received another wire transfer of an undetermined amount of money. Then, Sunday, Munoz went to ZAB's house in Kissimmee, where he watched the man pack the duffel bag with marijuana and weapons that he had bought at a gun show in Tampa.
At about 2 a.m. Monday, Munoz returned to ZAB's house, where the two men plotted how Munoz would skirt the security network at the airport. They arrived at the airport an hour later and gained access to restricted areas by using their identification cards, Carrillo stated. That's how Munoz was able to sneak the bag past the airport checkpoints manned by the Transportation Security Administration. He placed the guns and drugs at a secure area near a departure gate, and by 11:04 a.m. he was boarding the plane with the duffel bag. It's not clear how much federal authorities knew at this time or whether they had agents aboard the plane watching Munoz. Puerto Rico police Superintendent Pedro Toledo said Tuesday that gun running from the mainland, especially Central Florida, is a major problem on the island that fuels a black market and a high murder rate.
More here:Orlando Sentinel
Did he carry them next to his magnet?
Anyone connected with aviation has known for years there's a glaring wide open hole in airport security. This is that hole.
we should not be judgemental, this is his lifestyle choice /sarc
No that's only one of them. I have walked through some other ones. I'll not describe them here, but I'm sure TSA knows about them. I'm just not sure they care, or that they could fix them if they did.
That's a pretty ridiculous statement considering that all passengers are screened already but rampers aren't always screened properly. What are you advocating, full unlimited access to the ramp?
The authorities let the airports put the heat on the passengers (consumers) and let their own staff off the hook. I'm not saying it should be the other way around, but frankly it should be at least a 50/50 split. If we have to take off our shoes and belts, the guy screening us should have a squeaky clean record. No criminal record, no questionable associations, no nothing.
Bump!
The same worn out line when something like this occurs.
Thanks STARWISE for the ping.
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1793738/posts?page=386#386
The passengers were never in danger because the perp was likely surrounded by Federal Air Marshals on the airplane.
Who knew? Joe, Florida bang ping.
The Feds said the same old line about the ME person that had wires and a uniquely concealed magnet at LAX.
"A sworn affidavit by an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Puerto Rico states that police on the island were tipped by authorities in Orlando."
An alert baggage handler raised suspicions when he noticed tht the pilot and co-pilot were dressed as Bob Marley and Rambo...
Was it the former Mayor of El Paso again?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1797044/posts
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