A former high-ranking CIA official has been arrested and charged with attempting to take a loaded gun onto a plane.
Alvin Bernard Krongard, aged 78, tried to take a 9mm handgun loaded with five rounds of ammunition in a carry-on bag past TSA screening at Baltimore-Washington International airport last week.
Airport officials said Krongard was trying to board a flight to Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York State.
He was arrested on a state charge for interfering with security procedures, said Police spokesman Jonathan Green.
Krongard was CIA executive director and the third-highest ranking official during 2001 to 2004, according to a Washington Post report.
Krongard released a statement through an unnamed spokesman who said he ‘regrets very much inconveniencing TSA security personnel,’ the newspaper said.
"He said it was completely inadvertent. He was rushing to go to the airport. He needed an extra carry-on bag and mistakenly grabbed one which held the licensed weapon."
