Pakistan security officials have detained FBI agent for carrying bullets in a plane.

Islamabad, May 7/Nationalturk – A citizen of United States detained by security officials in an airport in Pakistan for carrying bullets is an FBI agent.

Pakistani security officials said US citizen Joel Cox was detained at Jinnah International Airport in port city of Karachi on Monday evening after bullets were found in his baggage.

“US citizen was attempting to board a domestic flight to Islamabad on Monday evening, when the Airport Security Force (ASF) discovered 15 bullets of 9mm caliber and a pistol clip in his baggage. He was immediately detained,” they said.

He was presented by Pakistani security officials in a local court yesterday on charges that he had violated local anti-terrorism laws that prohibit carrying of weapons or ammunition on a commercial flight.

A judge ordered that the US citizen be detained till Saturday so that security officials can question him and investigate the matter.

US citizen was an FBI agent: US officials

US influential newspaper Washington Post quoted US officials in Washington as saying the that arrested US citizen was FBI agent. “He is assigned to the FBI Miami Field Office and was in Pakistan on temporary duty”.

A US official told the newspaper that the agent was not armed and had apparently forgotten loaded magazine in his bag.

“The agent was in Pakistan as part of a multi-agency effort to help the Pakistanis investigate corruption,” he said.

Washington Post quoted detained FBI agent’s father as saying, “My son was scheduled to be in Pakistan for about three months for office-type work with a non-FBI-type entity”.

‘US working to resolve the matter’

A spokeswoman for US embassy in Pakistan capital (Islamabad), Meghan Gregonis said US officials are working to resolve the matter.

“We are aware of the reports, and we are coordinating closely with Pakistani authorities on the matter,” she said.

However, Pakistani officials said it was a sensitive subject and they are trying to gather more information about the agent’s job in Pakistan.

It’s common for FBI agents to be assigned overseas, where they often work out of US consulates or embassies.

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Asia News/ NationalTurk Pakistan News