A native of Saudi Arabia who lives in North Providence was arrested Sept. 18 at Boston’s Logan International Airport after customs agents found 11 disassembled firearms in luggage that he tried to check in for an Air France flight to Lebanon, law enforcement officials said.

Munir Alani, 26, told federal investigators that he planned to sell the weapons to “friends” in Syria or Lebanon and that he had made two such deliveries in checked luggage before — including, he said, a March flight on which he took a shotgun and four handguns that he sold in Syria for $1,500 apiece. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Alani claimed to have ties to Syria’s royal family, according to news reports by The Boston Globe and the Associated Press.

Alani, whose last known address was 15 Cooper St. in North Providence, is a driver for Corporate Taxi and Limousine, in Providence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston did not return calls seeking information yesterday, and Alani’s whereabouts — or virtually anything else about his status — could not be learned.

Alani was charged with unlawful delivery of firearms to an airline and lying to federal agents, according to news accounts quoting authorities. A spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration said that under federal rules a traveler can transport guns inside checked luggage, provided that he or she has declared the weapons to the airline.

On Sept. 18, authorities said, Alani showed up at the Air France counter for a 5:30 p.m. flight but was told he had arrived too late to be checked through. But after he pleaded that he stood to lose $10,000 if he did not get on the flight, airline employees allowed him to check in two suitcases, which were promptly examined by U.S. customs agents.

According to law enforcement officials, the agents found 11 disassembled firearms.

Alani’s lawyer, Paige Kelley, was quoted in The Boston Globe over the weekend as saying her client was unaware he was required to declare the weapons and that he had no ties with terrorists.

A man who answered the door at 15 Cooper St. yesterday said he understood that Alani was “being held.” Three children in the house told a reporter that Munir Alani no longer lived there.

Efforts yesterday to determine whether Alani was still employed at Corporate Taxi were unsuccessful. He was not working there yesterday. A dispatcher described him as “a very nice kid. … He’s very polite.”

North Providence Deputy Police Chief Paul Marino said Alani bought a gun from Firearms International, in Johnston, on Nov. 28, 2006. Marino said the police routinely receive reports of gun purchases. He said the police knew of no other purchases.

In August 2005, Alani filed incorporation papers with the secretary of state’s office. According to the filing, he planned to open Alani Food Mart at 775 Hope St. in Providence. The storefront at that address is now vacant.

rdujardi@projo.com