N.Y. bus terminal reopens after brief scare

The discovery of a suspicious package disrupted normal operations at the bus terminal Tuesday.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The south wing of New York City's Port Authority bus terminal was closed briefly on Tuesday while authorities investigated a report of a suspicious device, Port Authority police said.

Members of the bomb squad determined that the device, placed next to the police desk in the terminal, was a cell phone wrapped up in cell phone wires, Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman told CNN.

The man who planted the device was arrested on the scene without a struggle, after reporting to officers at the desk that he had placed a bomb there. Further information about the suspect was not immediately available.

The Port Authority reopened the bus terminal after the bomb squad determined that the device was harmless.

Police and fire departments sealed off the area on Manhattan's West Side, causing buses to back up and commuters to unload on side streets.

The south wing is the primary terminal for bus commuters to and from New Jersey. More than 2.3 million buses arrived and departed from the Port Authority terminal in 2000. Since it opened in 1950, the station has handled nearly 3 billion passengers.