AVOCA, Pa. — Security workers at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport stopped a man with a loaded gun in his carry-on luggage.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at the airport in Luzerne County intercepted a loaded .40 caliber handgun along with a total of 20 bullets in two gun magazines at the airport checkpoint on Thursday, according to a news release.
TSA officials said this was the first firearm officers detected at the airport checkpoint this year.
The weapon was caught as the man, a resident of Georgia, entered the security checkpoint. The X-ray unit alerted on the firearm among his carry-on items. TSA officials notified the police, who confiscated the gun. Law enforcement officers confiscate guns, not TSA officials.
Penalties for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.