If the owner of the handgun was trying to illegally transport the gun to where he was re-locating, why didn't he just do something like send it via UPS and lie about the package's contents? (Not that I'm condoning doing so; just saying.) Having your roommate do a bag switcheroo at an airport just asks for trouble.

EDIT: Wait a second. If you have a gun, you can actually check it in, unloaded, as luggage. There's something fishy about this explanation in the news. Or maybe the guys friend (the US employee) didn't know the rules.