MANHATTAN — Authorities in Cairo detained an American-Egyptian man after he managed to fly out of John F. Kennedy airport with a suitcase full of weapons and land in the Middle East, US law enforcement sources told DNAinfo.
Mohammed Ibrahim Khallaf, 60, a US citizen from Freehold, N.J., was taken into custody in Cairo, the source said.
Khallaf, who flew Egypt Air, was trying to pass through customs with two 9-millimeter handguns, 250 bullets, swords, daggers and knives, authorities told the Associated Press.
Khallaf did not appear on any terror watch list, law enforcement sources said.
He is an Egyptian-American botany professor at a US university, Reuters reported.
Passengers may transport firearms in checked baggage if they have permits for them and they are properly declared, but a Transportation Security Administration official said these firearms were not declared, according to the New York Times.
The investigation was turned over to prosecutors, according to the AP.
The Port Authority declined to comment.
