77 Firearms Discovered Over the Past Two Weeks – Of the 77 firearms, 69 were loaded and 21 had rounds chambered. See a complete list and more photos at the bottom of this post.
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| Stun Guns Discovered at (L-R) BOI, DAL, DEN, LAS, LAS, LAS, SAN, SFO, SFO, SLC, STL |
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| Stun Guns Discovered at (L-R) ABE, DEN, ESC, IAD, IAD, MFR, SAN, SEA, SFO, TYS |
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| Shot Gun In Checked Golf Bag (DTW), Pellet Pistol (DCA), Flare Guns Discovered at (L-R) (PDX) and (LIH), Brass Knuckles Between Cell Phones (MCO) |
Items in the Strangest Places –It's important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure no prohibited items are inside. If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag, you could be cited and quite possibly arrested by local law enforcement. Here are a few examples from the past two weeks where prohibited items were found in strange places.
Brass knuckles taped between two cell phones were discovered at Orlando (MCO).
A credit card knife was discovered at Albuquerque (ABQ).
A credit card knife was discovered at Charlotte (CLT).
A credit card knife was discovered at Fort Lauderdale (FLL).
A 3½-inch knife was discovered in the waistline of an Albuquerque (ABQ) passenger during a pat down.
A cane sword was discovered at Washington Dulles (IAD).
An anomaly was detected in a checked bag at St. Thomas (STT). After inspecting the bag, 2.2 kilograms of cocaine were discovered concealed inside candles. We're not looking for drugs, but powder inside what should be a solid wax candle does call for additional scrutiny. This is just another example of how our technology can spot anomalies and keep the flying public safe.
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| Knives Discovered at (L-R) BUR, AUS, IAD, IAD, IAD, JFK, AUS, ABQ, MLI |
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| Knives Discovered at (L-R) AUS, CLT, FLL, SAN, LAX, IAD |
Miscellaneous Prohibited Items - In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our Officers also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and pellet guns, Airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, and a lot of sharp pointy things…
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| Airsoft Guns Discovered at (L-R) PSP, HNL, PHX, DEN, BUR, BDL |
Airsoft Guns – Six Airsoft guns were discovered in carry-on baggage over the last two weeks at Bradley (BDL), Burbank (BUR), Denver (DEN), Honolulu (HNL), Palm Springs (PSP), and Phoenix (PHX). Airsoft guns are prohibited in carry-on bags, but allowed in checked baggage. Read this post for more information: TSA Travel Tips Tuesday: Traveling with Airsoft Guns
Firearms Discovered over the Last Two Weeks in Carry-On Bags
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| Guns Discovered at (L-R) FLL, DEN, DEN, FLL, FWA, JAN, ATL |
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| Guns Discovered at (L-R) MCO, AVL, IAH, SJC, LAS, JAN, PHX |
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| Guns Discovered at (L-R) ABQ, RDU, SAN, RDU, TPA, PIT, RSW |
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| Guns Discovered at (L-R) ANC, BNA, IAH, BWI, GSP, MFE, TYS, ATL, IAH |
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| Guns Discovered at (L-R) MSY, PBI, ABQ, HOU, AMA, LIT, PHX, IAD |
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| Guns Discovered at (L-R) MSY, PDX |
You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline.
You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should familiarize themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of travel prior to departure.
Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it's great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. The passenger can face a penalty as high as $7,500.00. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.
*In order to provide a timely weekly update, I compile my data from a preliminary report. The year-end numbers will vary slightly (increase) from what I report in the weekly updates. However, any monthly, midyear, or end-of-year numbers TSA provides on this blog or elsewhere will not be estimates.
If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you check out our post highlighting
the dangerous, scary, and downright unusual items our officers found in 2012. The 2011 list can be found
here.
Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team
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