Find odd items in checked luggage

Amsterdam on Sunday night after U.S. screeners found suspicious-looking items in their checked luggage before they departed, U.S. law enforcement officials said.

Security screeners found a cellphone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle, three cellphones taped together and a number of watches taped together, prompting American officials to alert the Dutch authorities.

One of the men was also carrying $7,000 in cash.

The men were taken into custody after United Airlines Flight 908 landed at Schiphol Airport on Monday morning.

A law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, identified the men to the Associated Press as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi and Hezam al-Murisi. Soofi had a Michigan address, the official said, but it was not immediately clear where the two men were from.

The law enforcement official said Soofi was questioned as he went through security in Birmingham, Ala., on his way to Chicago. He told Transportation Security Administration authorities he was carrying a lot of cash, the official said, but he was not breaking any law by carrying the $9565.
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