Air Station when the star attraction was arrested on gun charges.

Following a rising trend among professional athletes, International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Roy Jones, Jr., was allegedly caught at the airport carrying a silver and black handled .22 calibre handgun and 14 rounds of ammunition in his luggage during a customs' search.

A native of Pensacola, Florida, Jones had arrived on a commercial flight from Atlanta, Georgia at 5 p.m. on Wednesday as a guest of the local branch of the US Navy card titled Thunderdome -- The Return of the Champions.

The 25-year-old American was released on $1,000 bail, with a court date to be set.

Last Friday Jones successfully defended his middleweight title against Thomas Tate in Las Vegas, stopping his challenger in the second round of their scheduled 12-round bout which was shown locally on pay-per-view.

Jones first rose to prominence during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. During those games he lost a hotly disputed decision in the final and had to settle for a silver medal.

Last night Jones was believed to be at the base and was unavailable for comment.

However, event organiser Tom Respondek said he was unaware of any problems regarding the fighter and that everything was proceeding as normal.

"Tomorrow we will be training at the NAS gym at six o'clock,'' said Respondek, himself a boxer in the light-heavyweight category. "He's basically the special guest (at the card) and will be handing out trophies and may put on an exhibition of shadow boxing on Saturday night.

"Also, with him just being here helps morale.'' Respondek explained that the idea behind the card was to revive interest in the sport and that this was just one step in that direction.

"We're trying to build up a good boxing programme and get the sport back on the Island as far as the Police department, community and whatever.'' Respondek had high praise for Bermudian Quinton Mallory, who he said was working hard behind the scenes to recruit local talent.

He noted that aim of the base was to stage fights on a bi-monthly basis and that other high profile guests would likely be included.

Recently dethroned heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield was mentioned as a possibility for the next bout.