Disassembled gun pieces found among Lego toys in man’s carry-on, TSA says

A Mississippi man was arrested by Port Authority police on Wednesday, after Transportation Security Administration officers at Newark Liberty International Airport found disassembled gun parts artfully concealed in a boot and a LEGO box after a security screening.

A TSA officer saw the fully disassembled 9mm firearm in a carry-on bag at a checkpoint in Terminal A as the man's duffle bag entered the t X-ray machine, officials said.

The gun frame was jammed under a sock in the bottom of a boot. The gun's slide, spring and gun magazine loaded with 12 bullets were detected mixed among the plastic pieces of a Black Panther LEGO set, officials said.

Port Authority police confiscated the items, and arrested the man, who was flying to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

"He kept changing his story, first telling us that it was a toy gun and then claiming that it belonged to his brother," said Thomas Carter, TSA Federal Security Director for New Jersey in statement. "Regardless of his claims, it was a fully disassembled firearm that he could easily have assembled and used on a plane."

In addition to criminal charges from the police, the federal penalty for bringing a weapon to a TSA checkpoint can cost as much as $15,000, depending on the circumstances, officials said.

Guns can be transported on a flight if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case and declared to the airline when the bag is checked. However persons with a concealed carry permit are still not allowed to bring a gun on an aircraft, TSA officials said.

Stories by Larry Higgs

NJ Transit bus tire blowout injures 3 in Port Authority terminal

Port Authority lays out sweeping plans to rebuild Newark airport

Get ready for some closed lanes on this bridge to N.J. next week