ALLENTOWN, LEHIGH COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Investigators say a Carbon County man is being charged after he was found with explosive items inside of his suitcase at the Lehigh Valley International Airport.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), on Monday, Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) contacted the FBI to help identify items that they believed to be explosive in a suitcase checked in by a passenger, Marc Muffley, 40, of Lansford, Carbon County, heading to Orlando, Florida.
As stated in the affidavit, Muffley checked in a rolling suitcase at the Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown. Inside the luggage, investigators say the x-ray revealed a circular compound that was hidden in the lining of the baggage and concluded it contained a granular type of powder concealed within the wax paper and plastic wrap.
The FBI state the granular powder is suspected to be a mixture of flash powder and the dark
granulars that are used in commercial-grade fireworks.
The luggage also had a can of butane, a lighter, a pipe with white powder residue, a wireless drill with cordless batteries, and two GFCI outlets taped together with black tape, according to documents.
Muffley was paged over the airport’s speakers requesting him to report to security. Police say surveillance videos showed Muffley leaving the airport without speaking with security first.
FBI detectives later arrested Muffley at his Lansford home late Monday night.
At his probable cause hearing and detention hearing Muffley was charged with possession of an explosive in an airport and an attempt to place an incendiary device on an airplane.
