Two arrested after silencers found in luggage

RALEIGH -- Two British men are being held in federal custody after authorities discovered two gun silencers in luggage the men flew with from London to Raleigh.

The two men are accused of illegally importing a firearm silencer. Silencers are devices that attach to the end of a gun and help diminish the noise of shooting. Purchases of silencers are more restrictive than that of most firearms, requiring the same level of federal permitting as an automatic weapon.

George Hope and Garry Latcham arrived at Raleigh-Durham International Airport Thursday and couldn't find one of their pieces of luggage, prompting them to report it as missing to American Airlines staff, according to an affidavit by an U.S. Immigration and Customs Agent affidavit found in court documents.

The bag was found when a Customs and Border Protection officer at the airport spotted what looked like an abandoned suitcase and found two firearm silencers inside, the affidavit states. A silencer is a device that attaches to the end of a gun and helps diminish the noise that a gun creates when it fires.

Federal officials, working with American Airlines staff, arranged to have Hope and Latcham return to the airport and pick up their bag. They were arrested at the airport Friday.

The pair said they had bought the silencers in Great Britain and planned to bring them as a gift to Peter Slivinski, a Roxboro man they were visiting. Slivinski declined to speak with agents, according to the affidavit. He could not be reached for comment.

Firearms can be checked into a person's luggage but must be declared before boarding, according to the Transportation Security Administration Website. Purchases of silencers are more restrictive than that of most firearms, carrying the same level of federal regulation as an automatic weapon.

A bond hearing for Hope and Latcham will be held Friday in Raleigh's federal courthouse.