Pa. man accused of carrying shotgun shell filled with meth at Philly airport

Police arrested a Pennsylvania man at Philadelphia International Airport who was caught allegedly hiding a shotgun shell filled with methamphetamine under his clothes in his groin area, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday.

The man, described only as a resident of Orangeville, Columbia County, was flagged at a checkpoint scanner on Monday and the shotgun shell was found containing a white powder, officials said.

It was determined the shell was not explosive, and Philadelphia police concluded that the powder was methamphetamine and arrested the man on a state criminal charge, officials said.

Carrying any type of ammunition through a security checkpoint is prohibited, officials said.

Gerardo Spero, TSA’s federal security director for the airport, said in a statement that the focus of the security checkpoints is to ensure that no one brings explosives onto a plane.

“In this instance, our explosives experts conducted a test to determine what the mysterious white powdered substance was and fortunately it was determined not to be an explosive,” Spero said.

“It was a good catch and a job well done by all involved, including our law enforcement partners,” Spero said.