Disassembled Gun and Ammo Found in Three Stuffed Animals - TSA
Officers at Providence TF Green Airport (PVD) noticed what appeared to be a
disassembled firearm on the X-ray screen of baggage belonging to a father and
his small child. Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) were called to the checkpoint
and after searching the bag, they discovered a disassembled weapon hidden in
three of the child’s stuffed animals. The main frame of a .40 caliber firearm
was in one animal. A magazine loaded with two .40 caliber rounds and firing pin
was inside another. The slide was inside third stuffed animal. All of the necessary
components to assemble a fully functional loaded firearm were artfully
concealed in the three stuffed animals. This is just another example that
threats can appear anywhere and this is why our Officers take a closer look at
everything. It’s also an example that shows that even though we’ve made changes
to how we screen children 12 & under, the security process is still just as
effective. Congratulations to our Officers at TF Green Airport for a great
find!
Simulated Semtex-H – Once again, an explosives training aid was
discovered at a TSA checkpoint. This time it was at Fort Walton Beach (VPS) and
it involved a block of simulated Semtex-H explosive. We had no way of knowing
it was simulated until after we had gone through all of the motions.
Hollowed Out Book – A hollowed out book containing narcotics and drug
paraphernalia was discovered at Denver (DEN). As I’ve said many times before,
we’re not looking for drugs, but when we find them, we have to report them. So…
please don’t bring them. It’s yet another example of how a normal everyday item
can be used to conceal items.
Mace Gun – It looks kind of like a 1950’s era sci-fi ray gun, but
officers at Newark (EWR) discovered a mace/pepper gun.
Ammo in Pocket Found With Body Scanner – TSA Officers at Baltimore
(BWI) discovered 13 rounds of ammunition in the front pocket of a passenger who
went through a body scanner.
People Say the Darndest Things - Here are examples of what not to say at the airport. Statements like these not only delay the people who said them but can also inconvenience lots of other passengers if the checkpoint has to be evacuated:
- A passenger at Amarillo (AMA) stated “I have a bomb on my body” twice. As if once wasn’t enough?
- While having his bag searched at Tucson (TUS) due to an explosive trace detection alarm, a passenger stated “Watch out for the explosives.”
Miscellaneous Prohibited Items
- In addition to all of
the other prohibited items we find weekly, our Officers also found firearm
components, realistic replica firearms, stun guns, brass knuckles, a ginormous
amount of knives, ammunition, and batons.
Firearms - Here are the firearms our Officers found
in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday.
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. 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’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.