May 9th, 2010
07:20 PM ET

Authorities: Airport arrestee had suspicious items in shoes

A man trying to board a flight to Muscat, Oman, was arrested at the Karachi, Pakistan, airport Sunday after batteries, a circuit board and an on-off switch were found in his shoes, Pakistani authorities said.

No explosives were found, authorities said.

The man, identified by Pakistani authorities as Faiz Mohammed, a 30-year-old civil engineer who works for a construction company in Muscat, was searched when a scanner sounded an alarm as he prepared to board a Thai Airways flight to Muscat.

There was no immediate indication from Pakistani security officials on what they thought the intended use of the batteries and other materials might have been.

Officials said the man told interrogators he had come from Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, until recently called North West Frontier Province, an area where Taliban and militants have a presence.

The man lives in East Karachi, officials said.

–CNN's Tommy Evans and journalist Shad Khan contributed to this report.

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Filed under: Air travel • Pakistan
soundoff (9 Responses)
  1. alumette

    Is Karachi the cesspool for radical islamist groups? I will never forget that Daniel Pearl was murdered there and beheaded. How horrid.

    May 9, 2010 at 8:21 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Gabster

    @alumette – it's the largest city in Pakistan so it's name will come up more often. It is also the center of finance, arts, and many other things. I take it that geography is not your strong point.

    May 9, 2010 at 9:54 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Robert

    I see at least you said 'also'. I'm not sure if cesspool is an apt description, however trying to make Karachi seem like a Pakistani version of Paris is small-minded.

    May 9, 2010 at 10:57 pm | Report abuse |
  4. GardenStateNJ

    Read 3 Cups of Tea? Great book on intricacies of Pakistan, some really want to educate girls.. Greg Mortensen – great person – NOBLE PEACE Prize Candidate... This world needs more of this example.

    May 9, 2010 at 10:59 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Chris

    So the plan was for each person to cary onto the plane one bomb part. Not one person would have anything that would look like a bomb. Each person hides his one part. And then at some later point it gets assembled in the restroom.

    May 9, 2010 at 11:17 pm | Report abuse |
  6. JamaicaJoe

    I just saw a news program where an engineer was developing and electric generator to charge portable device (iPod, Cellphone)batteries when walking. The prototype was exactly like this description.

    May 10, 2010 at 12:15 am | Report abuse |
  7. Eva Campbell

    When buying Cellphone Batteries make sure that you are not getting those chinese fakes and knockoffs.""

    May 10, 2010 at 5:41 am | Report abuse |
  8. Dave Althaus

    Maybe he just had a difficult time getting his orthotics to fit correctly???????

    May 10, 2010 at 10:47 am | Report abuse |
  9. David

    A "dry run" perhaps?

    May 10, 2010 at 12:56 pm | Report abuse |
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