BOMBSHELL

Man Hid ‘Explosive’ in Checked Suitcase at Pennsylvania Airport, FBI Says

After Mark Muffley was paged over the terminal’s public address system, surveillance footage captured him leaving the airport.

A 40-year-old man has been accused by federal authorities of hiding an explosive device in a suitcase at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania this week, according to a criminal complaint. Mark Muffley is in FBI custody after checking his rolling case at the Pennsylvania airport on Monday morning, set to take an Allegiant flight to Florida. His bag set off an alarm as it was being screened by the Transportation Security Administration, according to the criminal complaint. Agents inspecting the bag found a plastic-swaddled circular device with a fuse and a granular-type powder “consistent with a commercial grade firework” hidden in the case’s lining, the complaint said. The powder was susceptible to ignition and “posed a significant risk to the aircraft and passengers,” the FBI said. Five minutes after Muffley was paged over the terminal’s public address system, surveillance footage captured him leaving the airport, the complaint said. He was arrested at his home on Monday night, and has since been charged with possessing an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive device on an aircraft.