CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A Puerto Rico man with roots in the U.S. Virgin Islands allegedly had a loaded firearm magazine in his luggage when he tried to clear security at the St. Thomas airport on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Khaliem Tang-Yuk, 20, of Puerto Rico was arrested about 2:47 p.m. Saturday and charged with possession of ammunition, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
Minutes earlier, the 911 Emergency Call Center dispatched Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) police officers and VIPD detectives to the Cyril E. King Airport regarding recovered ammunition, according to police.
“Transportation Security Administration agents reported the discovery of a loaded firearm magazine with ammunition in a bag owned by Tang-Yuk,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said. “He claimed he did not know how the magazine ended up in his bag.”
Tang-Yuk was taken into official custody and placed under arrest as a result of the discovery, Derima said.
Bail for Tang-Yuk was set at $25,000. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections (BOC) pending an advice-of-rights hearing.
This case is presently under investigation. Any persons having information regarding this incident are asked to call 911, the Criminal Investigation Bureau at (340) 774-2211 extension 5610, or Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS.