24 Jun 2003

Visitor provokes security scare in American Samoa

3:24 pm on 24 June 2003

A man who arrived in American Samoa at the weekend sparked a security scare, resulting in him being held by airport police for ten hours.

Details from the Homeland Security Office in Pago Pago show the man had 12 different passports in his possession.

He also reportedly had several stamp pads and stamps bearing immigration approvals from a number of countries.

Airline sources say the 28 year old man raised their suspicions when he began quoting airline codes that only staff should know.

The man has been released but reports from Pago Pago say he remains under surveillance.