According to TMZ Sports, Israel Adesanya was detained for unlawful possession of a weapon on Wednesday at JFK airport in New York City. The UFC star was reportedly found with brass knuckles while passing through security.
The Port Authority Police Department conducted the arrest close to the TSA screening area. This incident happened at about 1:57 PM, close to the American Airlines terminal.
In the state of New York, wearing brass knuckles is against the law as it is a class A misdemeanor. Additionally, it is unlawful to transport them in carry-on luggage or on your person.
Adesanya’s manager Tim Simpson told TMZ Sports,
“Israel was handed a gift by a fan, which he put in his luggage. When flagged at the airport, Israel quickly disposed of the item, and cooperated with authorities. He has complied accordingly, with that the matter was dismissed and he is on his way home.”
Recently, UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith also had difficulties at an airport for having a weapon in his luggage.
On his podcast Believe You Me, Smith said how he went to Kansas City and completely forgot that he had a gun in his rucksack. When he was getting ready for his trip and arrived at the airport unprepared, he forgot to take the gun out.
He said,
“I go through TSA pre-check, wave goodbye to all the peasants in the regular line, I go to the front of the line, put my bag on the belt, slide that thing through and then all of a sudden it stopped.”
“All the lines immediately stopped. And I start seeing all the TSA people start gathering around the screen. I absolutely succeeded and went through airport security with a loaded gun… And the guy goes, there’s a firearm in this bag.”
He continued,
““Michael Bisping, when I tell you, I wanted to curl up in a little ball and die. I was mortified when I realized, ‘Oh my God, that’s my bag!’ I’m terrified. And the lady says, ‘I take it that’s your backpack?’ … I told her the same story that I told you.”
“Turns out she was so cool about it, I still got into trouble but she was at least nice about it. So TSA’s gonna be reaching out and I’m gonna get in trouble. I’m gonna get a fat fine and I’m gonna lose my pre-check for sure.”