Two men en route to India from Atlanta tried to sneak knives and other weapons on board the flight that also stopped in New York, police said on Thursday. Federal officials said they have ruled out terrorism. Shakarabhai Patel, 64, who was traveling with Chhaganbhai Patel, had made it through security and on to the Delta Air Lines flight bound for New York and then to India, according to an Atlanta police report. Officials did not immediately indicate the relationship between the two men and could not immediately provide the menÂ’s citizenship. Authorities surrounded Chhaganbhai Patel, 60, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after he was found with a number of knives including a martial arts-style one, according to the police report.
Upon searching Patel’s bag three more times, they found razor blades hidden in the battery compartment of a toy car. “It was an intentional concealment,” Corlino said. FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett said Thursday federal agents interviewed the two men through an interpreter and determined the incident was not terrorism related. He declined to explain why the men had the knives. Federal authorities did not press charges and the case is being handled by local officials, Emmett said.