FBI arrests man who tried to board flight armed with knives, weapons
November 5, 2001 Posted: 11:55 AM EST (1655 GMT)

Subash Gurung was interviewed by CNN affiliate WLS-TV after being arrested at O'Hare International Airport.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- A man who tried to board a United Airlines flight armed with nine knives, a can of Mace and a stun gun was re-arrested by the FBI, after being released earlier by local authorities, officials said Monday.

The man, Subash Gurung, 27, was arrested Sunday night on a federal charge of unlawfully taking a weapon into an airport, and he is expected to be arraigned in district court later Monday.

Gurung had been arrested Saturday night and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and attempting to board an aircraft with a weapon, both misdemeanor charges. Gurung, who said he was from Nepal, was initially released on bond and told to appear in court December 19.

FBI spokesman Ross Rice declined comment on why Gurung had been released and then re-arrested.

Meanwhile, seven airport security workers were fired in the wake of the security breach, which drew the condemnation of the nation's largest flight attendant union.

The security breach has drawn the attention of the Bush administration. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, in Chicago for an unrelated matter, is expected to talk about the incident Monday afternoon.

The incident also comes as Congress continues to debate ways to overhaul airport security across the nation.

Last week, House Republicans, with the help of a handful of Democrats, pushed through a version of an airport security bill that does not mandate that passenger screeners at airports be federal employees. Instead, the Bush administration could use private companies to perform security checks on passengers, with stronger federal certification and oversight.

While President Bush supports the House position, the Senate unanimously passed a competing bill that would make screeners federal employees in the nation's larger airports. The Senate and House must now hammer out a compromise in a conference committee.

Authorities probe connection with other detained man
EXTRA INFORMATION
CNN.com Special: Flight Risk

CNN has learned of an apparent connection Gurung has with one of two men who were detained in Texas after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Gurung listed the same West Hollywood Avenue apartment address in Chicago as Ayub Ali Khan, who is being held as a material witness in the September hijackings.

Khan and Mohamed Jaweed Azmath were arrested in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 12 on an Amtrak train heading to San Antonio. Found in their possession were $5,500 cash, two flat box-cutter type knives and hair dye. Azmath also had copies of numerous passport photos.

The hijackers of the planes that crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon used similar box cutters as weapons, authorities said.

On the day of the attacks, Khan and Azmath were on a TWA flight from Newark to San Antonio. The flight was diverted to St. Louis when the FAA closed the skies to commercial aircraft after the terrorist hijackings and attacks.

Khan and Azmath lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. But a records check by CNN also found a Chicago address for Khan sandwiched between two New Jersey addresses used by him. The Chicago address is for the same apartment building as Gurung.

A government source told CNN that Khan never actually lived in the apartment in Chicago and never worked there.

But, the source said, "many phone calls were made to and from that apartment, and credit card bills were paid from that address."

Weapons found during random search
At O'Hare, the fallout from the incident was immediate.

Monique Bond, a spokeswoman for Chicago's aviation department, said a security screener removed two knives from Gurung's pocket when he initially went through the security checkpoint. He was then allowed to pass through.

The other seven knives, the Mace and the stun gun were found in his carry-on luggage during a random search before boarding United Airlines Flight 1085 to Omaha, said Officer Thomas Donegan of the Chicago Police Department.

United Airlines fired at least seven people -- security screeners and a supervisor -- after the incident with Gurung, according to Bond. Those employees worked for Argenbright Security Inc. That firm reached a settlement earlier in October with the Justice Department, in which it admitted it failed to complete court-ordered background checks on its employees.

That move came less than a year after three Argenbright managers pleaded guilty to breaking FAA rules by allowing untrained employees -- some with criminal backgrounds -- to operate airport checkpoints.

Violations were again discovered during the probationary period, when a Department of Transportation audit of the company's operations at 14 airports found the company was still employing numerous airport screeners who had been convicted of crimes that should have disqualified them.

In an interview with CNN affiliate WLS-TV in Chicago, Gurung said he was in a hurry and had carried the weapons in his bag by accident.

He said he was on his way to Omaha to visit friends and he had bought the weapons in Chicago to protect himself. He first said he was unemployed, but then told the reporter he worked in a warehouse.

-- CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti contributed to this report