Ok it was a silly remark, but behind that remark appears to be an inappropriate attempt at humour.
Silly yes, hanging offence, no!
It is correct that people doing the same at UK airports are carted off to the nick yes, and sometimes they are charged, to me it seemed a total waste of time money and effort, a quick search and a b****king would suffice, and maybe even the airline refusing to carry them, that should be the end of it.
Once its been established that the remark is frivilous then any action afterwards becomes vindicitive in my opnion, the effort and money would be better spent on better security.