DUBLIN (AP) — Irish authorities say a Slovak man unwittingly carried hidden explosives on board a weekend flight to Dublin after a Slovakian airport-security test went awry.
The 49-year-old electrician was arrested Tuesday, but released without charge after Slovak security officials alerted their Dublin counterparts to the screw-up.
Officials had surreptitiously placed different bomb components in the check-in luggage of nine passengers to see if security screeners would spot the contraband. The bag containing 90 hidden grams (3 ounces) of plastic explosive got through — and then wasn’t stopped from traveling to Dublin.
Irish Army explosives experts stressed the explosive posed no threat to passengers because it was stable and not connected to other essential bomb parts.