FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015

TSA Week in Review: 33 Loaded Firearms & Strange Vials

Some of the 2,212 firearms discovered in 2014

Year in Review
- Our 2014 Year in Review blog post was published this morning. A record breaking 2,212 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags in 2014. Be sure to check it out for a rundown of all the notable items our officers discovered in 2014.


Loaded firearm discovered in carry-on bag at ORF.
42 Firearms Discovered This Week Of the 42firearms, 33 were loaded and 15 had rounds chambered.

Strange Vials - After a checked bag alarmed at Long Island MacArthur (ISP), a search four vials labeled West Nile, Swine Flu, Small Pox and Chicken Pox.

The bottles were sent to a laboratory for further testing. The passenger stated she was a doctor/holistic healer, and the vials were watered down versions of the viruses.


Knife concealed in an Eiffel Tower replica

Artfully Concealed Prohibited Items –
Artfully concealed is a term used to describe an item that was intentionally hidden. It could be anything from a knife sewn into the lining of a bag to a sword hidden inside of a walking cane. If a concealed prohibited item is discovered in your bag or on your body, you could be cited and possibly arrested by law enforcement. Here are examples from this week where an artfully concealed item was found by our officers.



  • An 8-inch double-edged knife was detected concealed in a replica statue of the Eifel Tower in a carry-on bag at Oakland (OAK).
  • A cane sword was discovered in a passenger’s accessible property at Orlando (MCO).
  • A stun cane was discovered in a passenger’s accessible property at San Diego (SAN). Marijuana was discovered in the false bottom of an aerosol can in a carry-on bag at Buffalo (BUF).


Stun Cane (TPA) - Sword Cane (MCO)

Miscellaneous Prohibited Items In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, 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.

Arrows (PHX), Throwing Knife (PVD), Bullet Knife(EWR), Flare Gun (SAN)

Stun Guns – 12 stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags. Three were discovered at Denver (DEN), three more at Las Vegas (LAS), and the remainder were discovered at Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore (BWI), Phoenix (PHX), Reno (RNO), Sacramento (SMF) and Tampa (TPA).

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.

Clockwise from top left corner, firearms discovered at: ATL, ATL, IAH, MIA, ATL, LBB
Clockwise from top left corner, firearms discovered at:SNA, TPA, PWM, PGD


*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.

Read our 2014 Year in Review post! If you haven’t read them yet, make sure you check out our year in review posts for 2011, 2012 & 2013.

Follow @TSABlogTeam on Twitter and Instagram!

Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

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Posted by Bob Burns (TSA Blog Team) at 1/23/2015 08:41:00 PM

http://blog.tsa.gov/2015/01/tsa-week...-firearms.html