US national arrested at airport for carrying bullets in baggage

OST Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 18:

The Commissionerate Police today arrested an American national at the Biju Patnaik airport here for carrying bullets in his baggage without declaring them to the airport authorities. Eight .22 bore live bullets were recovered from him in the baggage scan at the airport.

The bullets were traced in his luggage while he was being frisked by airport authorities before boarding a chartered flight to Paradip this morning. He was taken into custody after he failed to satisfactorily explain how the bullets found their way into his baggage, police said.

The cops immediately took the foreign citizen to the police station, seized the bullets and questioned him to get more information on the purpose of his visit to Paradip.Details about the foreign citizen can be ascertained only after interrogation is complete, a police officer said.

William Michel, a Texas based engineer of US-based company STX, arrived in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday evening and stayed at a private hotel in the city, police said.He was reportedly on his way to inspect the engine of a ship in Paradip.

In his statement to the police, Michel has claimed innocence. “I have no bad intentions and I have made a mistake. Actually I just forgot they were inside my bag,” he said.

“I am sorry I forgot…I have made all the way here via Holland, and also Delhi and the bag was checked by the Customs,” he claimed.
The Commissonerate police are trying to verify the veracity of his claim.

The police said that the American national has violated the terms of the arms licence allotted to him by carrying the bullets with him while travelling.