Two men arrested on flight from Chicago to Amsterdam, one fingered in Birmingham

Two men were arrested from a flight from Chicago to Amsterdam, and apparently, they were up to no good.

They had stuff that you and I would look at and say, “that’s either a bomb, or it’s stuff that’s gonna be a bomb if we don’t stop’em.”

But TSA in Birmingham… didn’t stop’em:

 

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U.S. officials said the two appeared to be travelling with what were termed "mock bombs" in their luggage. "This was almost certainly a dry run, a test," said one senior law enforcement official.

A spokesman for the Dutch public prosecutor, Ernst Koelman, confirmed the two men were arrested this morning and said "the investigation is ongoing." He said the arrests were made "at the request of American authorities."

Airport security screeners in Birmingham, Alabama first stopped al Soofi and referred him to additional screening because of what officials said was his "bulky clothing." In addition, officials said, al Soofi was found to be carrying $7,000 in cash and a check of his luggage found a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle, three cell phones taped together, several watches taped together, a box cutter and three large knives. Officials said there was no indication of explosives and he and his luggage were cleared for the flight from Birmingham to Chicago O'Hare.

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It boggles the mind why someone carrying such suspicious luggage was cleared for anything except a trip to the Jefferson County lockup.

Officials believe this was a “dry run,” designed to test TSA security to see if they could board a US airliner with highly suspicious materials.  Sadly, the Birmingham airport security personnel kicked the can up the road to Chicago.  And Chicago then kicked the can up the road to…  Amsterdam?

This is why if I can get to my destination with a one-day drive, I’m on the road.  Houston.  Atlanta.  Jacksonville.  Even Charlotte or Savannah.