MIAMI (Reuters) - A 70-year-old U.S. scientist was detained for questioning at Miami's international airport after a suspicious metal canister in his luggage triggered a security scare that shut down airport operations overnight, authorities said on Friday.
The Miami Herald said the man held, a former science professor at Texas Tech University identified as Thomas Butler, had been convicted in 2003 on federal charges related to shipping vials of plague bacteria.
His history may have raised red flags. But an FBI spokesman, who said he was unable to comment on the newspaper report, said the man was released after laboratory tests on the canister found no trace of anything suspicious.
Authorities did not identify the man questioned.
Police said the airport had reopened and was operating normally on Friday morning after four of six terminals were evacuated and airport roadways were closed on Thursday night.
It was prompted by the canister, which was detected by airport screeners and strongly resembled a pipe bomb, police and security officials said.
(Reporting by Tom Brown; additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky in Washington; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
