Sudanese man charged over ammo on Washington to London flight

LONDON, Jan 16 (AFP) — A Sudanese man was charged with carrying illegal ammunition on a flight from Washington to London’s Heathrow airport, British police said.

“He’s been charged,” a Scotland Yard spokeswoman told AFP, referring to 45-year-old Alwasila Alhibr Wassila who was nabbed at Heathrow after coming off a Virgin Atlantic flight from Dulles airport in the US capital on Wednesday.

Wassila faces three charges: one for carrying ammunition, another for carrying “prohibited ammunition”, and a third regarding the “possession of dangerous articles on an aeroplane”, the spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman, who named Wassila officially for the first time, said the Sudanese national was due to appear later Friday morning at a central London police station.

She could not confirm a BBC report, quoting airport sources, that five bullets of two types had been found in a pocket of Wassila’s coat.

The incident called into question the level of security at Dulles, one of the biggest US airports, less than a week after the US national terrorist threat level was lowered from elevated to high.

Wassila was initially arrested under the Firearms Act when he stopped at a security checkpoint soon after disembarking from Virgin Atlantic Flight VS 022 on Wednesday.

In transit for a flight to the Gulf state of Dubai, Wassila was hustled to the Heathrow airport police station for questioning after he was picked up in Terminal Three’s transit lounge.

A few hours later, however, police said he was being arrested under Section 41 of Britain’s Terrorism Act 2000, which refers to “alleged involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.

Virgin Atlantic said that “the item seized did not pose a threat to our aircraft,” while BBC television reported that the man was not on any known “terror watchlist”.

Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports, was on a heightened state of alert throughout the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, as US officials feared a repeat of the September 11 attacks of 2001.