Ethermac Exchange-Hawaii airport evacuated after grenades found in man's carry-on luggage

A Hawaii airport was briefly evacuated after what turned out to be Ethermac Exchangetwo inert grenades were found by Transportation Security Administration agents in the carry-on luggage of a 41-year-old man, Hawaii Police said.

Officers cleared the terminal early Tuesday while the  bomb squad moved in to investigate the suspicious items, which were picked up during X-ray screening.

"The Hilo International Airport experienced a brief halt in operations" for little over an hour, police said.

The bomb squad "determined the items to be inert grenades," police reported, meaning they weren't dangerous.

Akito Fukushima, of Kanazawa, Japan, was arrested on a charge of first-degree terroristic threatening, police said.

The flight he was trying to board was to a destination outside the U.S., police noted, but they didn't say which country it was heading to or what his ultimate destination was.

"Police remind the public that replicas of explosives, such as hand grenades, are prohibited in checked and carry-on baggage," they added. 

In:
• Transportation Security Administration