TSA Week In Review: Sword canes, razor blade chewing gum, and a little splash of EVOO

Display of Prohibited Items Found at EWR

Note *** The Week In Review normally lists info from Friday through Thursday. This week I won’t be including information for Thursday. Thursday’s report comes in on Friday morning and it’s a Federal Holiday. Also, I’ll be on vacation and will return on the 28th, so the next two Week In Review posts will be abridged versions.

In an odd turn of events at Orlando (MCO), a passenger who was told that her olive oil exceeded the size limit grabbed the bottle and began pouring it upon herself and our officer. I hear EVOO is good for the skin, but yeah… this is frowned upon. 

This week, our officers found not one, but two sword canes! One at Westchester (HPN) and the other at Sarasota (SRQ). These are considered artfully concealed items, but to be fare, most passengers are shocked when we show them what was concealed in their cane. Many of the canes are hand-me-downs or they were purchased at a thrift or antique store.

At Los Angeles (LAX), an anomaly was found during screening with a body scanner. The passenger stated he had burns on the inside of his leg, so the anomaly could not be cleared and the passenger was denied access to the sterile area. Law enforcement responded and the passenger later admitted that the anomaly was marijuana. We’re not looking for drugs, but we had no idea what was concealed on the passenger until he confessed. It could have easily been explosives.

Here is how a situation played out at Houston Intercontinental (IAH).

        Passenger: I have a bomb in my bag.
        Officer: What did you say?
        Passenger: I have a bomb in my bag.
        Officer: [Looking Alarmed]
        Passenger: I’m just kidding.

After this was all said and done, the passenger was allowed to rebook, but not with his original airline. He caused his original flight to be delayed by 42-minutes affecting 224 passengers.

After being told he could not take his snow globe on the flight, a passenger at Reno (RNO) thought it best to begin shouting “I am going to blow up the plane and I know how to do it.” For the record, snow globes are prohibited because the liquid is sealed inside the globe and we have no way of screening the liquid without destroying the globe. Also, shouting that you’re going to blow up a plane is never a good thing. 

Notable News This Week: The TSA Pre✓™  pilot expanded to three more airports. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX),  Las Vegas - McCarran International Airport (LAS), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). 

Firearm components, replica firearms, ammunition, unloaded firearms, a bb gun, stun guns, a belt buckle knife, brass knuckles, a brass knuckles belt buckle, a 6” knife, a collapsible baton, a 4” switchblade, and a butterfly knife, were among some of the dangerous items found around the nation by our officers in passenger’s carry-on bags this past week. And believe it or not, not one grenade turned up this week.

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. On the other hand, there are artfully concealed items. 

Artfully Concealed Items: Artfully concealed means that the item was intentionally concealed with the intention of sneaking it through security:

• A razorblade was found concealed inside a pack of chewing gum at Indianapolis (IND). Something tells me that’s not so hot for your gums.
• A brass knuckle belt buckle was found at New York LaGuardia (LGA).
• A knife with a 4 ½” blade was found concealed in the lining of a bag at Midway (MDW).

Our officers found 24 loaded firearms in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. (Not counting the unloaded and replica ones we found). Here’s a rundown of the loaded weapons we kept off of airplanes this week:

• 11-4: TSA Officer at  IAH detects a loaded  9mm pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-4: TSA Officer at  CVG detects a loaded  .38 pistol.
• 11-5: TSA Officer at  MOB detects a loaded  .22 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-5: TSA Officer at  OKC detects a loaded  .40 pistol.
• 11-5: TSA Officer at  SGF detects a loaded .38 pistol.
• 11-6: TSA Officer at  IAH detects a loaded  .40 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-6: TSA Officer at  STL detects a loaded  .40 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-7: TSA Officer at  BZN detects a loaded  .45 pistol.
• 11-7: TSA Officer at  ATL detects a loaded  .380 pistol.
• 11-7: TSA Officer at  DFW detects a loaded  9mm pistol.
• 11-8: TSA Officer at  PIT detects a loaded  .38 pistol.
• 11-8: TSA Officer at  OMA detects a loaded  .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-8: TSA Officer at  RDM detects a loaded  9mm pistol.
• 11-8: TSA Officer at  STL detects a loaded  .380 pistol.
• 11-8: TSA Officer at  DEN detects a loaded  .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-8: TSA Officer at  MEM detects a loaded  .22 pistol.
• 11-8: TSA Officer at  LIT detects a loaded  .25 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-9: TSA Officer at  DEN detects a loaded  pistol of unknown caliber.
• 11-9: TSA Officer at  ELP detects a loaded  .32 pistol.
• 11-9: TSA Officer at  SMF detects a loaded .22 pistol.
• 11-9: TSA Officer at  MIA detects a loaded  9mm pistol.
• 11-9: TSA Officer at  FLL detects a loaded  .45 pistol.
• 11-9: TSA Officer at  ATL detects a loaded  .40 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-9: TSA Officer at  LAX detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 11-10: No Data for Thursday due to federal holiday. (Thursday’s report comes in on Friday mornings.)

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. 

Body Scanner Finds: We’re not looking for drugs, but that’s normally what we find with the scanners. We don’t know what the anomalies are until we conduct a pat-down and they could very well be dangerous items.

• Vial of cocaine discovered in right front pocket. Sacramento (SMF)
• Marijuana was detected in the shorts pocket of passenger. Atlanta (ATL)
• Cocaine found in the right front pocket of passenger. Sacramento (SMF)
• Marijuana detected in the left, rear pants pocket of passenger. San Francisco (SFO)
• Marijuana detected in the right, front pants pocket of passenger. San Diego (SAN)
• Marijuana detected in the right, upper leg area of passenger. Los Angeles (LAX)

Display of Prohibited Items Found At ACY

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 their bag. That’s why it’s important to check your bags before you leave.

We also look for explosives and bomb components as well, but thankfully those are extremely rare and we're happy to keep it that way.

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team

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.

TSA Week In Review: Loaded Guns & A Knife In A Nut Can

Can Shown Not Actual Can (Courtesy of Eric Kilby)

A lot of passengers simply forget that they have certain items in their bags, but when a prohibited item is intentionally concealed, it’s called an artfully concealed item. We had several of these this past week and here are a few of the more interesting ones:

• During Advance Imaging Technology (AIT) screening at  Salt Lake City (SLC), a bottle of vodka was found taped to the inside of a passenger’s lower calf area. The interesting thing here is that the passenger could have put the vodka in 3.4 oz. bottles in a baggie (not a brown bag) and that would have been just fine. For all we know, this could have been liquid explosives.
• A passenger at Las Vegas (LAS) hid an unloaded .25 caliber handgun under the flap of their duffle bag. It turns out that flaps aren’t X-ray proof…
• It also turns out that chewing tobacco isn’t X-ray proof either. That’s where TSOs at Chicago Midway (MDW) found a passenger’s knife. I’m going out on a limb here, but I suppose they were “spittin’ mad?”
• “Aw nuts!” is probably what a passenger was thinking when TSOs at Albuquerque (ABQ) found their knife hidden in a can of peanuts.

After being told that some of the toiletries in her bag were too large, (read about TSA liquid rules) a passenger at Charlotte (CLT) took the next logical step and told our officers she had a bomb in her bag. Not only did that make her day a little longer, the entire checkpoint was closed until the situation was resolved. Her fellow passengers weren’t too happy.

A loaded .40 caliber handgun with 15 rounds and one chambered was found at Indian Wells Valley Airport (IYK) on Wednesday. This time was a little different though. It wasn’t found at the checkpoint, it was found in an unattended bag near the rental car counters. Ooops.

Yet another inert grenade was found in a carry-on bag at Birmingham. This time, it was a gift for the passenger’s son. While it was an inert grenade and posed no threat, we don’t know that when it’s on the X-ray monitor. We have to treat it like it’s real.  Read here and here about all the grenades we find.

Stun guns, firearm components, ammunition, brass knuckles, knives with blades up to 5 ½”, and switchblades were among some of the dangerous items found around the nation by our officers in passenger’s carry-on bags this past week.

Our officers found 25 loaded firearms in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. (Not counting the unloaded and replica ones we found). Here’s a rundown of the loaded weapons we kept off of airplanes this week:

• 10-21: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .40 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-21: TSA Officer at RNO detects a loaded 9mm
• 10-21: TSA Officer at BOS detects a loaded .40 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-21: TSA Officer at DEN detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-21: TSA Officer at TPA detects a loaded .380 pistol
• 10-22: TSA Officer at GNV detects a loaded 9mm pistol
• 10-22: TSA Officer at ATL detects a loaded .40 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-23: TSA Officer at ABQ detects a loaded 9mm pistol
• 10-23: TSA Officer at DFW detects a loaded .380 pistol
• 10-23: TSA Officer at AUS detects a loaded .380 pistol
• 10-24: TSA Officer at LEX detects a loaded .357 pistol
• 10-24: TSA Officer at AEX detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-24: TSA Officer at PDX detects a loaded 9mm pistol
• 10-24: TSA Officer at AUS detects a loaded .380 pistol
• 10-25: TSA Officer at MCO detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-25: TSA Officer at TUS detects a loaded .32 pistol
• 10-25: TSA Officer at CMH detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-25: TSA Officer at DRO detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-25: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .357 pistol
• 10-25: TSA Officer at LIT detects a loaded .357 pistol
• 10-25: TSA Officer at SLC detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-26: TSA Officer at AUS detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber
• 10-26: TSA Officer at BOI detects a loaded .44 pistol
• 10-27: TSA Officer at OKC detects a loaded .380 pistol
• 10-27: TSA Officer at CMH detects a loaded .38 pistol

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.

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 their bag. That’s why it’s important to check your bags before you leave.

We also look for explosives and bomb components as well, but thankfully those are extremely rare and we're happy to keep it that way.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

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.

TSA Week In Review: Loaded Guns & Landmines

Landmines Found at SLC

Yes, you read the title correctly. Landmines… TSA officers found in checked baggage at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) after our Explosive Detection System alarmed. SLC Explosive Ordnance Disposal arrived on the scene and determined the mines were inert. After all was said and done, all checked bags from that area had to be rerouted to other baggage systems and four flights were delayed 19 minutes.

Unloaded firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, stun guns, brass knuckles, assorted knives of all sizes and types, a collapsible baton, fraudulent IDs, nunchucks, and yet another darn replica grenade were among items found around the nation by our officers in passenger’s carry-on bags this past week.

King Midas in Reverse traveled through Newport News Williamsburg International Airport this past Thursday with a brick of gold that had ‘$10,000,000.00’ stamped on it. The police responded and while the gold was fake, the warrant against the individual was 100% authentic. The real fugitive, and his fake gold, were taken into custody by law enforcement.

This past Wednesday, a Transportation Security Officer's search of a suspicious bag at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport's C-Pier checkpoint yielded five credit cards and an additional driver's license... all belonging to different people, none of which belonged to the passenger. TSA contacted the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who took the individual into custody.

In another incident, a passenger at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was placed under arrest after he got a little tipsy and was heard saying he was going to bring a bomb onboard the aircraft.

It’s no secret that we find drugs and concealed cash nearly every day. We find them both during baggage checks and also during screening with advanced imaging technology (aka body scanners). We’re not looking for drugs and cash, but they show up as anomalies in the same exact places where explosives could be hidden. That’s why these finds are significant. It shows that our technology and procedures work.  Just this week at Westchester County Airport (HPN), a large mass was detected in a carry-on bag. After a bag search, a false bottom was located in the bag where over $50,000.00 of cash was bundled. Each bundle was wrapped in cellophane and a cloth that had been soaked in an unknown fragrant substance. The passenger’s ID was fraudulent and they were arrested by the Westchester County Police on state charges.

The TSA Week In Review appeared in a New York Times Editorial titled: Check-In at Dodge City. Also, a reader of the York Daily Record wrote a letter to the editor stating that they believe that “overall, the negative reviews of TSA are unwarranted.” Thanks for the kind words!

Dr. Emma Garrison-Alexander, TSA’s Chief Information Officer and Assistant Administrator for Information Technology, was recognized earlier this week with the United States Government Information Security Leadership Award (GISLA), presented by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc., (ISC)². Great job!

Our officers found 22 loaded firearms since I posted last Friday in carry-on baggage. And 1 one on a passenger! (Not counting the unloaded and replica firearms we found). Here is a rundown of the loaded weapons we kept off of airplanes this week:

• 10-14: TSA Officer at SAT detects a loaded .22 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-15: TSA Officer at CLL detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-15: TSA Officer at MCI detects a loaded .9mm pistol.
• 10-15: TSA Officer at ATL detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-16: TSA Officer at CLT detects a loaded .38 pistol.
• 10-16: TSA Officer at OKC detects a loaded  9mm pistol.
•  10-16: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber. 
• 10-17: TSA Officer at BNA detects a loaded .45 pistol. 
• 10-17: TSA Officer at BUR detects a loaded .38 pistol. 
• 10-17: TSA Officer at MCO detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber. 
• 10-18: TSA Officer at BNA detects a loaded .380 pistol. 
• 10-19: TSA Officer at LAW detects a loaded .357 pistol with a round in the chamber. 
• 10-19: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber. 
• 10-19: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .38 pistol with a round in the chamber. 
• 10-19: TSA Officer at FMN detects a loaded 9mm pistol.
• 10-19: TSA Officer at LIT detects a loaded .380 pistol. 
• 10-19: TSA Officer at SAV detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-20: TSA Officer at IAD detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber. 
• 10-20: TSA Officer at TUL detects a loaded .38 pistol. 
• 10-20: TSA Officer at LIT detects a loaded .38 pistol.
• 10-20: TSA Officer at ATL detects a loaded 9mm pistol. 
• 10-20: TSA Officer at MEM detects a loaded .38 pistol with a round in the chamber. 
• 10-20: One passenger at DFW took it to the extreme. In the passenger’s back pack, a duffle bag and a sleeping bag, a TSO found two unloaded pistols, (.380 & 9mm) 8 knives of varying blade lengths with seven inches being the longest blade, a saw, and three ammo magazines.   
• 10-20: After alarming the walk through the metal detector at HSV, a passenger immediately remembered he had a loaded .22 Derringer in his pocket.  

Multiple Items Found At DFW From One Passenger

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.

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 their bag. That’s why it’s important to check your bags before you leave.

We also look for explosives and bomb components as well, but thankfully those are extremely rare and we're happy to keep it that way.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

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.

Week in Review: Lipstick Knife & Lost and Found - And a few other tidbits...

Stock Photo of Lipstick Knife

It was business as usual at the checkpoints again this past week.

A passenger at MCO gave us a good example of something you should never say during screening: "You better check me close. I am about to blow." After finishing screening, the passenger's airline denied them boarding and removed their bag from the plane. The passenger was permitted to rebook with a different airline.

In addition to all of the loaded guns we found, (listed below) we also found a lot of other prohibited items around the nation to include gun parts, ammunition, stun guns, mace, throwing stars, throwing knives, switchblades, butterfly knives, kitchen knives etc. In one instance at MDW, one of our officers found a lipstick knife. Paging 007... AT RSW, a passenger went as far as to conceal two knives in the handles of their carry-on bag. In yet another instance at SFO, a knife was found detected under the sole of a passenger's shoe. One could say they were walking on a knife's edge.

Our officers found a couple of other notable things this past week, but they weren't prohibited. A passenger at EWR was relieved after answering a page on the public address system. He had left his wrist watch and a wallet containing $405.00 in cash at the checkpoint. An alert team of TSA officers had found his belongings and worked with the airport to page him so that he could come back to retrieve his belongings. Another passenger who had just traveled through ROC was taxiing to the runway when she noticed that her two-carat diamond had fallen out of her ring. After a series of phone calls, officers at ROC located the diamond on the floor at the checkpoint and it was eventually returned to a very happy passenger.

Our officers found 21 loaded firearms since I posted last Friday. (Not counting the unloaded and replica firearms we found). Here is a rundown:

• 10-7: TSA Officer at IAH detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-7: TSA Officer at LBB detects a loaded .380 pistol.
• 10-7: TSA Officer at SAT detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-8 TSA Officer at MOB detects a loaded .32 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-8 TSA Officer at AUS detects a loaded .380 pistol.
• 10-8 TSA Officer at SEA detects a loaded .357 pistol. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
• 10-9: TSA Officer at PHF detects a loaded .22 pistol.
• 10-9: TSA Officer at STL detects a loaded .22 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-9: TSA Officer at MSY detects a loaded 9mm pistol.
• 10-10: TSA Officer at MCO detects a loaded .380 pistol.
• 10-10: TSA Officer at SLC detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber. (ABC4)
• 10-10: TSA Officer at SAT detects a loaded 9mm pistol.
• 10-11: TSA Officer at DEN detects a loaded .22 with a round in the chamber.
• 10-12: TSA Officer at GSO detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-12: TSA Officer at MSY detects a loaded .22 pistol.
• 10-12: TSA Officer at HOU detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-12: TSA Officer at GRR detects a loaded .22 pistol.
• 10-13: TSA Officer at ANC detects a loaded .380 pistol.
• 10-13: TSA Officer at IND detects a loaded 9mm pistol.
• 10-13: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .357 pistol.
• 10-13: TSA Officer at SAT detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber.
• 10-13: TSA Officer at MIA detects a loaded firearm of unknown caliber.

Unless you're a law enforcement officer or Federal Flight Deck Officer who is able to fly with a firearm in the cabin of the aircraft, your firearm (s) must be declared to the airline and checked in your luggage. You can go here for more details.

Just because we find a firearm on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. And just so you know, we also look for explosives and bomb components as well, but thankfully those are extremely rare and we're happy to keep it that way.

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team

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.