Washington state Sen. Jeff Wilson was arrested recently at Hong Kong International Airport after he self-reported a firearm in his carry-on to customs officials.

The Republican from the 19th District and his wife were traveling in the first part of a five-week vacation through Southeast Asia when the Friday night arrest occurred, his office said in a release on Monday.

Mr. Wilson was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and released Sunday on bail ahead of a court hearing next week.

Bail was set at HK $20,000, which is equivalent to $2,556.64, according to local English newspaper The Standard.

“It was an honest mistake, and I expect the situation to be resolved shortly,” Mr. Wilson said in a statement. The gun is registered legally in Washington, and the senator has a concealed pistol license.

The pistol had been in Mr. Wilson’s briefcase, with Transportation Security Administration agents at Portland International Airport in Oregon failing to detect the firearm, Mr. Wilson’s office said.

By U.S. law, guns are only supposed to be allowed in secure, locked cases as checked luggage.

The gun went unnoticed as his plane traveled from Portland to San Francisco. Midflight from San Francisco to Hong Kong, however, Mr. Wilson reached for gum and found his unloaded gun instead.

Upon landing, he immediately went to customs and reported the weapon.

Guns remain a problem for the TSA, including in the Pacific Northwest. A total of 78 guns were seized at the Portland, Oregon, airport in 2022, a new record, with 6,542 guns seized at 262 airports nationwide, also a new record, according to the TSA.

“This is not a new problem, but it is one that must be addressed since we have reached an unacceptable level of firearms coming through our security checkpoints,” TSA Federal Security Director for Oregon Kathleen McDonald said in a statement in January, when those statistics were released.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.