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TSA Week in Review – 50 Firearms, 80 Pounds of Marijuana, and Other Notable Items Discovered Last Week

Loaded firearm discovered in carry-on bag at San Antonio (SAT)
Loaded firearm discovered in carry-on bag at San Antonio (SAT)

50 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 50 firearms, 44 were loaded and 13 had rounds chambered.

80 pounds of marijuana discovered in checked bag at CRQ
80 pounds of marijuana (CRQ)

80 Pounds of Marijuana - 80 pounds of marijuana was discovered last Friday in a checked bag at the McClellan - Palomar (CRQ) airport in California. While we are looking primarily for explosive devices, it's difficult not to see 80 pounds of it. When discovered, contraband is reported to local law enforcement.

Artfully Concealed Prohibited Items – It's important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure prohibited items are not inside. If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag or on your body, you could be cited and possibly arrested by local law enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where prohibited items were found by our officers in strange places.

  • A double edge knife was detected in a cane at Minneapolis (MSP).
  • Three knife keys were discovered at Birmingham (BGM).
Knife keys discovered in carry-on bag at Birmingham (BGM)
Knife keys discovered in carry-on bag at Birmingham (BGM)

Inert Ordnance and Grenades etc. – We continue to find inert grenades and other weaponry on a weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a real bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays because the explosives detection professionals must resolve the alarm to determine the level of threat. Even if they are novelty items, you cannot bring them on a plane. Read here on why inert items cause problems.

  • A realistic replica hand grenade was discovered at Las Vegas (LAS).

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 many other prohibited items too numerous to note.

Speargun discovered in carry-on bag at St. Croix (STX)
Speargun discovered in carry-on bag at St. Croix (STX)
(Left to Right) Four knives in one bag (MCO), Hunting Knife (BUR), Switchblades (BUR, MCO & MCI)
(Left to Right) Four knives in one bag (MCO), Hunting Knife (BUR), Switchblades (BUR, MCO & MCI)
(Left to Right) 16 knuckle knives (IAD), Throwing Knives (SJC & LGB), Throwing Star (LAS)
(Left to Right) 16 knuckle knives (IAD), Throwing Knives (SJC & LGB), Throwing Star (LAS)

Stun Guns –15 stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation: Three were discovered at Dallas Love (DAL), two at Denver (DEN), and the remainder were discovered at Albuquerque (ABQ), Baltimore (BWI), Detroit (DTW), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Fresno (FAT), Jackson (JAN), Las Vegas (LAS), Omaha (OMA), Sacramento (SMF), and San Francisco (SFO).

Airsoft Gun – An Airsoft gun was discovered this week in a carry-on bag at the Lubbock (LBB) airport. Airsoft guns are prohibited in carry-on bags, but allowed in checked baggage. Airsoft grenades are not permitted in checked or carry-on bags. Read this post for more information: TSA Travel Tips Tuesday: Traveling with Airsoft Guns

Guns Discovered at (Left to Right, Top To Bottom): AUS, DAL, CVG, SGF, ICT, RDM
Guns Discovered at (Left to Right, Top To Bottom): AUS, DAL, CVG, SGF, ICT, RDM
Guns Discovered at (Left to Right):DEN, HOU, TPA
Guns Discovered at (Left to Right):DEN, HOU, TPA
Guns Discovered at (Top To Bottom): MSO, PHX, PSC
Guns Discovered at (Top To Bottom): MSO, PHX, PSC

50 Firearms Discovered This Week - Of the 50 firearms, 44 were loaded and 13 had rounds chambered.

*In order to provide a timely weekly update, this data is compiled from a preliminary report. The year-end numbers will vary slightly from what is reported in the weekly updates. However, any monthly, midyear or end-of-year numbers TSA provides on this blog or elsewhere will be actual numbers and not estimates.

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 line 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. 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.

If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you check out our TSA Blog Year in Review for 2013 . You can also check out 2011 & 2012 as well.

Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team

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