(Washington Insider Magazine) – Agents with the US Transportation Security Administration had a busy year seizing items that are prohibited or cannot be placed in carry-on baggage such as deadly name axes, extendable batons and drugs.
Hidden Object List
Once 2022 was over, the list of objects that passengers tried to hide in their suitcases was released, ranging from meat products to drugs and weapons, which were discovered in baggage scanners at different airports in the country.
Topping the TSA’s 2022 list, a drug smuggler attempted to move thousands of fentanyl pills disguised as candy through Los Angeles International Airport in October. The drug dealer hid the pills inside packages of Sweetarts, Skittles and Whoppers, authorities said at the time.
Report From TSA Officials
TSA officials reported earlier this year that they seized a record 6,301 firearms, more than 88% of which were loaded, from passengers in 2022. The Richmond airport in Virginia detained a record 23 loaded guns. last year, the agency said.
In November, a gun was found inside raw chicken at a Fort Lauderdale Airport security check for a passenger traveling to Haiti.
Similar situation when TSA agents found the gun parts wrapped in plastic and hidden inside two peanut butter jars at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in December.
To the previous ones, there are findings of a knife found inside a laptop at the Richmond International Airport (Virginia), drugs inside hair bands, at Boise Airport (Idaho).
In addition, there were cases where a pistol was found inside the PlayStation video console in a passenger’s luggage at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (Georgia), a grenade at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (Wisconsin) and that of thousands of unreported dollars in crutches at El Paso International Airport (Texas)
Some of the oddities TSA workers found in 2021 included a chainsaw at New Orleans International Airport, a machete found at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and a meth-laced breakfast burrito intercepted at Hobby International Airport. in Houston, Texas.
This article is authored by Armando Hernandez.