Police briefly thought they’d nabbed the Unabomber, then found it was a false lead - authorities said Sunday that the man arrested on weapons and traffic violations has no ties to the elusive terrorist.

When police arrested him Saturday for having expired California plates on his maroon van, they found a gun and electronic equipment inside.

CBS radio news, citing an unidentified source, said authorities found bomb-making equipment in the van and, in the 37-year-old man’s Evanston home, a typewriter with a font that could match the type used in one or more of the Unabomber’s letters.

Police said they called in the FBI because of the suspicious nature of the items in the van, but refused to confirm or deny the CBS report, as did the FBI.

After further investigation, agents concluded the man, whose name was not released, had no ties to the bomber who began his campaign against technology in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, killing three people and injuring 23 with 16 package bombs since 1978.

“Unfortunately, I have to say we do not have the Unabomber,” Police Chief Gerald Cooper told reporters.