Arman Nair appeared in Boston court on Tuesday after being charged with attempting to carry a 10-inch titanium ‘vampire straw’ onto a flight departing from Logan International Airport last month.
The young man, 26, and his attorneys arrived at the East Boston Municipal Courthouse on Monday morning after he was hit with a state charge for possessing the banned travel item.
Vampire straws are most commonly used to drink thick shakes and smoothies, but they are also long enough to be used as daggers and are marketed as ‘very effective’ tire deflators.
Violators of the state weapons law that Nair has been charged with can be given a fine or sentenced to up to five years in prison if they have prior felony charges.
Arman Nair, 26, appears in East Boston Municipal court with his attorney Richard Bardi on Tuesday. Nair was charged last month in relation to a Vampire straw that was found in his carry on bag at Logan International Airport
Shortly after his arrest last month, the New England TSA Twitter account posted a picture of the Vampire straw and identified it as contraband flight material
The metal object was discovered by TSA agents and confiscated by the Massachusetts State Police. Nair was then arrested and charged in relation to traveling with a banned item.
According to the TSA, many sharp objects are only allowed in checked travel bags.
Following Nair’s arrest late last month, the Twitter account @TSA_NewEngland posted a picture of a vampire straw and wrote: ‘This is Vampire straw. These items are not allowed in passenger carry-on bags.’
‘A passenger found that out yesterday at Logan International Airport when Massachusetts State Police confiscated the item and eventually arrested the 26-year-old man on a stage charge. #travelfail.’
Following Nair’s arrest last month, Massachusetts police told CNN that the confiscated straw had been purchased from Szabo Inc., which sells custom titanium Vampire straws for $85.
While the company says the product can be used to ‘effortlessly’ slurp any thick shake or smoothie, it also claims it is ‘designed for self defense’ and is ‘long enough to be used like a dagger.’
The product description notes that the straw can easily be carried around in public ‘without attracting attention’ and that its ‘chiseled tip is sharp enough to puncture more synthetic materials.’
The production description goes on: ‘In 100000 years, when every trace of humanity will have disappeared, the Vampire straw will remain, unaffected by corrosion, as a testament of the ingenuity human beings possessed to invent contraptions to hurt each other.’
Nair, of Chicago, and his attorneys arrive the court house after he was charged last month with carrying a dangerous weapon
The Vampire straw in question was an $85 custom titanium device advertised as a weapon on the website from which it was ordered
Nair was ultimately released on personal recognizance until a hearing on June 27
In Massachusetts, it is illegal to carry certain ‘edged instruments,’ including stilettos and daggers. According to state troopers and the TSA, the Vampire straw ‘fit that category.’
Punishment for breaking the weapons law can result in up to five years in prison if they have prior felony charges.
Following his appearance Tuesday, Nair was released on his own recognizance and will return to court for a hearing on June 27.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk