LOS ANGELES (AP) — A U.S. official says Koreans screened a man with a bulletproof vest before he got on a flight to Los Angeles, but they never detected an illegal smoke grenade concealed in his checked luggage.
A Homeland Security official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Korean authorities thoroughly searched Yongda Huang Harris and his carry-on luggage. They found nothing suspicious and he boarded the flight.
The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Harris was taken into custody in Los Angeles after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers noticed the vest and a search of his checked luggage uncovered the smoke grenade, knives, body bags, a hatchet, billy clubs, a gas mask and handcuffs.
U.S. officials are working with Korean authorities to determine how the smoke grenade slipped through screening.
