ROMULUS, Mich. – A man travelling from Saudi Arabia was arrested after a pressure cooker was found in his luggage at Detroit Metro Airport.
The man, Hussain Al Kwawhir, is also accused of using an altered passport and lying to Customs and Border Protection Agents.
The alleged incident happened Saturday when Al Kwawhir arrived in Detroit from Saudi Arabia by way of Amsterdam. He told agents he was coming to the area to visit his nephew at the University of Toledo.
Upon inspection, agents found a page missing from Al Kwawhir's passport. Al Kwawhir told agents he didn't know how the page had became torn.
They also found a pressure cooker in his luggage.
Al Kwawhir said the pressure cooker was a gift for his nephew, who attends the University of Toledo, because his nephew was unable to buy one in the United States. Al Kwawhir later changed his story and said his nephew's pressure cooker was broken and he was replacing it for him.
Al Kwawhir was arraigned in Federal Court on charges of lying to customs agents about the pressure cooker and having an altered passport. During the proceedings he said nothing.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday when a judge will decide if Al Kwawhir will be released on bond pending his charges.
A pressure cooker bomb was used in the Boston Marathon bombings in April.
Three people were killed in the Boston attack and dozens of others injured.