TSA agent gets through check with 'bomb'

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NEWARK, N.J., March 8 (UPI) -- Screeners at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport failed to find the fake bomb hidden in an undercover agent's pants, officials say.

Sources told the New York Post the security breach occurred Feb. 25. In a story published Friday, the Post said the agent was part of a team of four Transportation Security Agents who posed as ordinary airline passengers at a single checkpoint in Terminal B at the airport.

"This episode once again demonstrates how Newark Airport is the Ground Zero of TSA failures," a source told the newspaper.

The agent first went through a magnetometer and then a pat-down. He had a mock improvised explosive device on his person that was not detected.

A female agent was caught carrying an IED hidden in a child's doll -- with wires sticking out.

"TSA regularly conducts covert testing of security layers. Regardless of the tests' outcome, TSA officers are provided with immediate on-the-spot feedback so they receive the maximum training value that the drills offer," the TSA said in a statement. "Due to the security-sensitive nature of the tests, TSA does not publicly share details about how they are conducted, what specifically is tested or the outcomes."

The Post said that 52 screeners were fired at Newark airport last year and 19 disciplined for security problems or theft.