Passenger detained after TSA agents find drugs in checked bag at McCarran

A cross-country flight was briefly delayed Sunday morning at McCarran International Airport, after Transportation Security Administration officials discovered suspected narcotics in a piece of luggage, according to airport spokeswoman Christine Crews.

American Airlines Flight 436, bound for Charlotte, N.C., was held at the gate at about 9:30 a.m. after TSA agents found suspected drugs in a passenger's checked bag. Upon the discovery, the TSA agents contacted Metro police, Crews said.

Police searched the plane and found no other drugs on board. The passenger whose checked luggage contained the narcotics, believed to be heroin, was removed from the plane and detained for eventual arrest by federal authorities.

"Once the passenger was taken off the plane, the flight proceeded as planned," Crews said.