Man involved in airport scare faces deportation

updated 5:48 p.m. ET March 13, 2007

LOS ANGELES - An Iraqi immigrant faces deportation after triggering a security scare at Los Angeles International Airport when authorities found a suspicious device lodged in his body, officials said.

Fadhel Al-Maliki, 35, of Atlantic City, N.J., prompted the alert March 6 during a screening for a flight to Philadelphia when he tried to go through security with two objects in his rectum. The FBI said he told screeners the objects, a polished stone and a piece of metal, were used to fight stress.

That wasn't enough to constitute a federal offense, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. However, immigration agents reviewed Al-Maliki's case and said they found two violent convictions on his record.

The convictions for domestic violence and possession of an illegal weapon violate the terms of Al-Maliki's status as a permanent U.S. resident and make him subject to deportation, said Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Haley said she had no details on the convictions, and that it wasn't clear when deportation proceedings would begin.

A US Airways plane bound for Philadelphia was diverted because Al-Maliki's checked luggage had been screened and put aboard without him.

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