San Juan TSA Document Checkers Spot Fake IDs Leading to Two Arrests
Press & Happenings
November 6, 2007
Julio Rolon checking documents atLuis Munoz Marin International Airport
(SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Two men were arrested at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Nov. 4 after a TSA transportation security officer (TSO) who was checking travel documents spotted suspicious-looking drivers' licenses that turned out to be fake.
TSO Julio Rolon alerted Lead TSO Ricardo Carrasquillo and Screening Manager Steve Saunders. They determined the IDs were forged and that two passengers were attempting to use aliases to fly from San Juan to Boston.
"We identified the IDs as suspect due to some minor irregularities," said Saunders. "When the passengers were referred for additional screening, we contacted law enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to confirm." Puerto Rico police and CBP agreed the IDs were fake. CBP took the passengers into custody on charges of Possession of False Identification.
Federal Security Director Jose Baquero said TSA added another level of security when it took over travel document checking from contract workers. That change is consistent with the agency's goal of identifying people who might do us harm, not just items brought to the checkpoint.
TSOs first took over travel document checking at John F. Kennedy (New York) International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International, Phoenix Sky Harbor and more than 200 smaller airports. The program continues to be rolled out to airports across the U.S. and its territories.
