Canadian Man Charged After Suspicious Items Found At Airport

MONTREAL (AP) – A Canadian man is facing three charges, after authorities say parts of a potential explosive device were found in his carry-on luggage at the Montreal airport yesterday. Antony Piazza, who’s originally from Iran, was charged today with endangering the safety of an aircraft and other counts. A prosecutor says Piazza could face up to 10 years in prison. He previously served a 10-year sentence under another name in a Canadian prison for smuggling drugs into the country.

His lawyer says Piazza maintains his innocence in the airport case, and that the carry-on bag didn’t belong to him. According to the lawyer, police found wires, bullets and a powder inside the bag. The items were found at a security checkpoint in the U.S. departures area early yesterday morning. The suspect had a plane ticket for Los Angeles. Everyone on the flight was questioned, and luggage was searched as a precaution. Flights headed for the United States were delayed for several hours.