Hartford — A Niantic man was arrested Sunday after Transportation Security Administration officers at Bradley International Airport stopped him from bringing a loaded handgun onto an airplane.

TSA officers, who spotted the gun when the man's carry-on bag entered the X-ray machine, contacted the state police, who arrived at the checkpoint, confiscated the gun and detained the man for questioning before arresting him on weapons charges, the TSA said in a press statement.

The man was carrying a 9mm handgun loaded with 10 bullets. State police did not respond to a request for the man's name or charges.

It marked the fifth gun caught at the airport's checkpoint so far this year. TSA officers caught nine firearms at Bradley in 2018.

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.