Armed Afghan Air Passenger Detained

December 11, 2001 8:08 am EST

KAMPALA, Uganda (Reuters) - Ugandan security forces have detained an elderly Afghan man who tried to board an airliner with two air pistols and a hunting knife, police said Monday.

They said Askaruo Gholam Omar, 74, did not declare the weapons as he tried to board a Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi Sunday but scanners detected them in his luggage.

"They were air pistols, the kind used for sport, and were unloaded, but we wanted to know why he did not declare them," said police spokesman John Kimera.

It was not immediately clear whether Omar was carrying the weapons in his hand baggage or had put them in a suitcase in the hold.

Police said Omar, whose final destination was Amsterdam via Frankfurt, told them he had been living in Uganda since 1979.

Many countries have tightened security for air passengers since hijackers wielding box cutters carried out suicide airliner attacks on the United States on Sept. 11.

-- Anonymous, December 11, 2001

Answers

As I understand it, in Massachusetts a gun permit is not required for possession of air pistols.

-- Anonymous, December 11, 2001