US passport holder and Jordanian native Ahmad Abdullah Abu Ghanam was arrested earlier this week at Jacksonville International Airport after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) found a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol — wrapped in aluminum foil and with the serial numbers filed off — in his checked luggage.

The airport's Federal Security Director Ed Goodwin said of the handgun, "It was packaged in such a way that we felt that it was artfully concealed." Florida's First Coast News has the story:

Authorities brought Abu Ghanam and two family members in for questioning, according to Michael Stewart, the director of External Affairs for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force were alerted. A short time later, authorities arrested Abu Ghanam.

He told investigators he bought the gun off the street for $110 about a month ago and didn't know the serial number had been filed off. He faces state charges for the alteration or removal of a firearm serial number. The TSA says Abu Ghanam could also be charged with federal firearms charges due to the nature of the weapon's concealment.

Ahmad Abdullah Abu Ghanam was scheduled to fly on a United Express flight from Jacksonville to Chicago. From Chicago, he was scheduled to fly to Amman, Jordan.

I asked a Chicago-based, former Federal Air Marshal if Abu Ghanam would have had access to his bag — ergo his semi-automatic — at the airport in Chicago. "Once the individual checked his bag in Jacksonville, he wouldn't see his bag until Amman, Jordan — unless the individual was leaving at a later date," I was told.

Neither Airport Security Director Ed Goodwin, nor the TSA have returned calls.  

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