Bhubaneswar police on Wednesday afternoon arrested an American national from Biju Patnaik airport here on the charge of illegally possessing live bullets in his hand bag.

The incident came to light when the foreigner, identified as one William Michel, was going through security check at the airport before boarding a chartered helicopter to the port township of Paradip in coastal Jagasinghpur district.

When security personnel found eight live bullets from the American’s hand bag, they immediately informed the city police. A police team arrived at the airport and arrested him under Arms Act after a brief interrogation.

The foreign national insisted during interrogation that the bullets had been kept in the bag by mistake and he did not have any ill-intent, police sources said.

 “He said that before leaving America he had forgotten to take out the bullets from his bag and he had no bad intentions. However, a detailed investigation is on and he will be further interrogated,” a senior police official handling the case said.

Police are probing how the foreigner could slip the security at New Delhi airport, assuming his claims to be true, on arrival and while boarding a domestic flight to Bhubaneswar.

The Texas-based American national, an engineer by profession, arrived in the city on Tuesday evening from New Delhi and had checked into a local hotel. He was in Odisha to visit a private industry located in Paradip.