A HAIRBRUSH DAGGER?

Three firearms discovered at a Chicago O'Hare TSA Checkpoint

33 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 33 firearms, 26 were loaded and seven had rounds chambered.

Artfully Concealed Prohibited Items – It's important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure you are not carrying prohibited items. 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 hairbrush dagger was discovered at Fairbanks

Discovered at CHS

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.

• Two inert grenades were discovered this week in carry-on bags at Charleston (CHS), and Atlanta (ATL).

Stun Guns – Seven stun guns were discovered this week at checkpoints across the nation: Two were discovered at Las Vegas (LAS), two at San Jose (SJC), and the remainder were discovered at Atlanta (ATL), Lubbock (LBB), and Memphis (MEM).

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.

Knives Discovered in Carry-on Bags at EWR

Bullet Knife Discovered at SFO

Ammunition discovered in carry-on bags at IAH

Ammunition – When packed properly, ammunition can be transported in your checked baggage, but it is never permissible to pack ammo in your carry-on bag.

Firearms Discovered at (L-R) MSY & GPT

Clockwise From Top Left, Firearms Discovered at: HOU, PIT, GPT & RSW

*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.

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Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team