CAIRO: Egyptian Customs are known to be a bit lax with security at the Cairo International Airport. That appears to have almost been the case for an Egyptian-American botanist on flight 986 from New York's JFK airport, who got picked out of line after appearing nervous at customs. Mohamed Ibrahim Marei's reason for being nervous was that in a secrete compartment of his checked luggage, customs found two undeclared 9mm handguns, 250 rounds in a metal box, two swords and 11 knives. The American Transport Security Administration (TSA), in charge of baggage security, confirmed that the two undeclared firearms were found. But they said there had been no security glitch at JFK. TSA said US regulations allowed weaponry in checked baggage if it had been declared to the airline. “Other countries have different laws that address transportation and possession of firearms. We recommend passengers traveling internationally check with the authorities at their destination about their requirements,” a TSA statement said. Marei is an American-Egyptian and a security source told Bikya Masr that being Egyptian means “he is in a world of hurt.” In the mist of US's continued “War on Terror” and the previous threats in the US such as the “underwear bomber” and the attempted Times Square bombing, many are wondering how Marei slipped through American attention. BM
