LOS ANGELES AIRPORT : Odor Prompts Evacuation; PCP Seized, Two Held
Authorities evacuated a passenger terminal and arrested two women Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport after employees noticed a strange odor coming from one passenger’s bag as she passed through an airport-screening facility, an LAX spokesman said.
Sandy Shaw and Makeela Thomas of New York were arrested after the Hazardous Materials Squad of the Los Angeles Fire Department seized 4 1/2 gallons of PCP hidden in plastic bottles, Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Gary Davis said.
Davis said Shaw and Thomas were returning to New York from an unknown location.
LAX spokesman Tom Winfrey said the women were detained and Terminal 3 was evacuated about 7:45 a.m. while Fire Department personnel transferred the PCP to pavement outside. The terminal, which serves TWA and Alaska airlines, was closed for about 30 minutes.
TWA spokesman John McDonald said the evacuation did not cause any service problems for passengers.
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