(Miami) A man was able to fly from Barbados to Miami, Florida with a loaded pistol in his pocket, US media reported.
This passenger spent the four hours of flight with the weapon, in which were five bullets, in the cabin, specified the channel NBC6.
It was only at the Miami airport that agents for the TSA, the United States’ transportation security agency, found the gun in his belongings. The media did not say exactly when this incident happened.
According to NBC6, the passenger told US police that when he boarded in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, he had the gun in his pants pocket.
Police detained him and a judge charged him with concealed carrying of weapons, a felony punishable by five years in prison in Florida.
The passenger declared himself not guilty and must appear again in court in mid-December.
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said on Friday that she had called for an “urgent report” on the case, promising that the person or people who allowed the incident to occur would be held to account.
“The consequences for the country are serious and enormous,” she added.
This is a major flaw for the United States, which has tried to strengthen its border security measures as much as possible, in particular at airports, since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Washington in particular requires foreign governments to apply American security standards at airports from which direct flights to the United States depart.