Nigerian official says man attempted to smuggle explosives onto plane

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) Security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle explosives onto a domestic flight over the weekend and arrested a suspect, Nigeria's aviation minister said Sunday. <br/><br/>Minister

Sunday, November 19th 2006, 10:50 pm

By: News On 6

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) Security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle explosives onto a domestic flight over the weekend and arrested a suspect, Nigeria's aviation minister said Sunday.

Minister Femi Fani-Kayode said he did not have specific details on the type of the explosives, saying only ``they are high-powered stuff.'' The items were found Saturday in luggage that was being checked in to fly unaccompanied, Fani-Kayode said.

``We've arrested the person and recovered the explosives,'' Fani-Kayode said.

The suspect was shown on television in handcuffs and surrounded by police. He said he had been given the items to deliver at the airport and did not know what was in the luggage.

The Bellview Airline plane, a Boeing 737, was scheduled to fly from Nigeria's commercial hub of Lagos to the capital, Abuja, on Saturday morning and left later in the day.