(CNN) -- Police have detained a man in his 70s at Montreal airport after a suspicious item was found in his luggage for a flight to Los Angeles, authorities said. The item discovered wasn't an explosive but a part of a potential device, said Montreal Police Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere. The detained man is known to police, Lafraniere said, but not for anything related to terrorism. Police searched the other passengers and their luggage, looking for a possible accomplice, the police commander said. But none was found. Authorities then began searching the man's home and car, he said, seeking "anything that will make us understand what's going on." During the time it took police to secure the area around the man's home, about 20 people were evacuated from the area. They have all since been allowed to return.
Police: The suspicious item is part of a potential device but not an explosive . The flight the man was going to board was bound for Los Angeles . The man in his 70s is known to police but not for terrorism, an official says . Police have searched other passengers and the man's home .