US citizen briefly arrested for carrying weapon at Islamabad airport

William Jones released after senior official of US Embassy pays his bail.


Afp/web Desk July 18, 2014

ISLAMABAD: A United States citizen was briefly arrested at Islamabad airport on Friday for attempting to board a plane carrying a pistol and 15 bullets, Express News reported.

William Jones, who was identified by police and airport officials as a US security trainer, was planning to travel to America via Abu Dhabi when he was taken into custody.

Muhammad Fayaz, a police officer deputed at the airport, said: "The Airport Security Force (ASF) has handed over to us a US national after recovering a magazine and 15 bullets from him.

"The bullets and magazine were discovered through a scanning machine."

An airport security official told AFP that the man was set to travel by Etihad flight EY-232 from Islamabad to Abu Dhabi and onward to the United States.

"He is residing in the US embassy as a security trainer," the official said.

After his arrest, Jones was sent to the airport police station where a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged, Express News reported.

Jones was released on Friday afternoon after a senior official of the US Embassy paid his bail, which was granted by a local court.

"Judge Qaiser Hussain released the detained US national on personal guarantee of a Pakistani employee of the US embassy," Musaddaq Hussain, Station House Officer (SHO) of the airport police station, told AFP.

A spokesperson for the US embassy was not immediately able to provide confirmation of the arrest.

On May 5, a Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agent, Joel Cox, was arrested at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi for carrying 15 bullets of 9mm caliber and a pistol clip in his baggage. The case was later dismissed by a court on May 19, after police failed to present evidence.

COMMENTS (14)

Kabool Shah | 9 years ago | Reply Why do they always arrest someone going away and not comming in. He was probably a security personal permittet to carry weapon.
Shakil Khan | 9 years ago | Reply

Would a Pakistani or any citizen will get the same treatment by US authorities if caught trying to board the flight with weapons at any US airport?

Enforcing law will earn you respect nothing else, so let them go easily, enforce it and they will not try again to do such non sense in your country!

VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ