Another scare at the Port of Miami

Another scare at the Port of Miami Screeners checking supplies being loaded onto a cruise ship at the Port of Miami Monday got a reading for military-grade explosives in a package containing sprinkler system parts, forcing the evacuation of the ship and an adjacent passenger processing terminal before a police bomb squad determined there were no explosives in the package.
   The incident was the second major security scare at the port in two days. On Sunday, security officers at the gates leading into the cargo area on the other side of the port detained three Middle Eastern men who were in a truck bringing a container into the port. Police said there was confusion when a guard thought the driver said he was the only man in the truck and two passengers were found during a routine check of the truck at a station where temporary port passes are issued. The contents of the truck were thoroughly checked by Customs and Border Protection. The cargo matched the manifest and nothing unusual was found in the container.
   The second security scare at the port started around 2 p.m., when equipment used to check baggage and supplies going into the ship indicated a package contained the C-4 explosives. The package was checked a total of six times and gave a positive C-4 reading each time, a spokesman for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, the owner of the ship, explained.
   The ship and terminal were evacuated and the bomb squad was brought in. Police dogs could not detect explosives, but the package was brought to a secure area of the port and detonated at about 3:30 p.m. Police said it appeared the package contained only the sprinkler parts.
   The passengers returned to the ship, which departed at 6 p.m., one hour later than the originally scheduled departure time.
   Meanwhile, charges of trespassing and resisting arrest without violence that had been filed against the men in the truck were dropped on Monday, according to court records. A police spokeswoman initially said on Sunday said no charges had been filed, but the charges were later filed and dropped. The men were residents of Dearborn, Mich. who were originally from Iraq and Lebanon. They all have permanent residence status.