The Transportation Security Administration committed the latest in their endless string of blunders this week when they caught a suspicious man lurking near a restricted area at LaGuardia Airport – and then let him go before he could be properly questioned, law enforcement sources told The Post.
Two TSA screeners approached a man claiming to be Raja Rameez, 24, of Sugarland, Texas, at about 5 a.m. Monday after he opened an alarmed door in an area known as P-9 that leads from a food court in the central terminal building to a heavily secured “aeronautical operating area.”
The TSA workers took down Rameez’s name, but sent him merrily on his way before police and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force could properly vett him, to make sure he isn’t a terrorist.
A source said this was a violation of airport procedure.
“This was a breach of federal and local security procedures and violates all protocols at our nation’s airports,” said the source.
Stunned Port Authority Police Department officers arrived on the scene about 10 minutes after the interloper – described as 6-foot-2, wearing tan jeans, a blue shirt and glasses – was let go.
They tried to locate him again, but he was nowhere to be found, a source said.
The comedy of errors got more ridiculous after the release of Rameez.
The TSA screeners and a security guard who was also involved in the bungle took turns blaming each other for letting the man go.
The only good idea the TSA had was at least to get a name from Rameez, who produced a driver’s license, although it is not clear if the name he provided is legitimate, sources said.
The man claiming to be Rameez insisted he had been trying to catch a flight – first to Atlanta and then to Houston – aboard US Air, which operates from another airport location, a source said.
A man by the same name — who had ties to the same town where the man claiming to be Rameez lives — could not be reached for comment.
A spokeswoman for TSA declined to address why the TSA screeners released the suspect. But a TSA official insisted “the Port Authority (or its contractor) is responsible for securing that area of the airport.”