Man, 71, detained in Montreal after suspicious materials found in carry-on luggage for LA-bound flight

Oct. 27, 2013: A Montreal police car blocks off a street in a residential area near Trudeau International Airport after the discovery of a potential explosive device found in the carry-on luggage of a 71-year-old man who was headed to Los Angeles. The man has been detained. (AP/The Canadian Press)

Authorities in Montreal have detained a 71-year-old man who was headed to Los Angeles after parts after parts of a potential explosive device were found in his carry-on luggage.

The package was spotted at a security checkpoint in the U.S. departures area of Montreal's Trudeau International Airport early Sunday morning, said Jean-Pierre Brabant, a Montreal police spokesman.

The items in the package were not explosives.

"It was different parts of a potential device. To make that a little clearer, let's say you are trying to do a bomb inside the luggage, but one thing was missing: no explosives, but it was different parts of a dangerous device," said Ian Lafreniere, another police spokesman.

Lafreniere didn't say what specifically the parts were, but sources told the QMI Agency news service that agents found a powder-like substance.

The luggage was sent to a lab for analysis.

"We should have the results in a few days," Police Spokesman Jean-Pierre Brabant told QMI Agency.

Police blocked off a residential area near the airport on Sunday evening, and about 20 residents were ordered to evacuate from their homes. Police said they were going to search an apartment.

The suspect, who had a plane ticket for Los Angeles, was detained but had not yet been questioned or charged, Lafreniere said in an email to the Associated Press early Monday. The man has not been identified but he is known to police, according to CBC.

Everyone on the flight was questioned, and luggage was searched as a precaution, Lafreniere added.

An airport spokeswoman said flight operations had resumed. While the police were inspecting the luggage in the airport on Sunday, at least 16 flights headed to the U.S. were delayed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.