MONTREAL — A Montreal man on trial for trying to board an airplane with explosives-related materials in his suitcase says he was set up.
Antony Piazza, an Iranian-Canadian, is facing four charges stemming from the Montreal airport bomb scare on Oct. 27, 2013.
Piazza, 74, told the court today he suspects an acquaintance in Spain with whom he had a falling-out likely inserted illegal materials into the handles of his carry-on luggage.
Testifying in his own defence, Piazza says he was shocked when security screeners turned up the materials while X-raying his luggage.
Piazza was supposed to be heading to Los Angeles aboard an Air Canada flight that day to see his siblings.
The court has heard previously the items tucked into the telescopic arms of the luggage could be used, technically, to make a detonator but that the explosion would have been minimal.
The discovery caused lengthy delays at the airport and a vast security perimeter in the Montreal neighbourhood where he lived.
Piazza told Quebec court Judge Thierry Nadon on Friday how he changed his name for security reasons after his car was bombed.
His was born in Iran and his name at birth was Houshang Nazemi.
