An Italian national was placed under arrest by Philippine aviation officials Wednesday after he joked he was carrying three nuclear bombs in his pocket and was a member of a terrorist group responsible for deadly attacks around the world.

Salvini Fabrizio, who was carrying an Italian passport, was held at the final checkpoint of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila at 4:14 pm when he told police he was carrying bombs in his pocket.

Fabrizio, 58, said, "I have three nuclear bombs in my pocket and I belong to the group of Bin Laden."

Senior Superintendent Efren Labiang, chief of the First Police Center for Aviation Security, said the reference to the world's most-wanted man, Osama bin Laden of the terror group al-Qaeda, quickly set off alarm bells among police officers at the terminal and they immediately took the passenger into custody.

Fabrizio was brought to the First Police Center for Aviation Security for investigation. The Italian was the seventh passenger at the NAIA to make a bomb joke since February, but police conceded that he was by far the most alarming.

The first case, which involved a French passenger, had prompted aviation security officers to post notices in NAIA terminals warning that bomb jokes were taken seriously at the airport.

"This is the first time that there was a joke about nuclear bombs. The others before usually said they carried a bomb or a grenade or that something in their bag would explode. But this is the worst so far," said Chief Superintendent Atilano Morada of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group.

Fabrizio refused to be interviewed by reporters.

He was charged with the violation of Presidential Decree 1727, a law that penalizes making a "false bomb threat," before the Pasay City Prosecutor's Office Wednesday night. The prosecutor recommended a bail of $220 for his temporary freedom while his case is on trial in a local court.