Mark Muffley, 40, was arrested on Monday after an explosive device was found in his luggage at Lehigh Valley International Airport. Photo courtesy U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
March 1 (UPI) — A Pennsylvania man was arrested after an explosive device was found in his luggage at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley International Airport.
Mark Muffley, 40, was attempting to board an Allegiant flight from Pennsylvania to Orlando Sanford International Airport, when the device was found in a checked bag. He is now in FBI custody, officials said.
Transportation Security Administration agents found a “circular compound approximately three inches in diameter, wrapped in a wax-like paper and clear plastic wrap hidden in the lining of the baggage, among other items,” after an alarm went off.
“The baggage also contained a can of butane, a lighter, a pipe with white powder residue, a wireless drill with cordless batteries, and two GFCI outlets taped together with black tape,” according to the criminal complaint.
TSA agents then paged Muffley over the airport intercom system and asked him to report to security, but he did not show up. Security cameras then caught Muffley leaving the airport.
“The FBI arrested Marc Muffley, 40, without incident at his Lansford, Pa., residence late Monday night,” an FBI spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.
The incident closed the airport for more than two hours.
TSA said in a statement that “out of an abundance of caution, the immediate area of airport was evacuated and the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were notified.”
Muffley is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.