FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014

TSA Week in Review – Knife Discovered in Enchilada, 41 Loaded Firearms, and More

Discovered at (DAL) Checkpoint - 3 Loaded Magazines in Case, But Firearm Was Not Loaded

43 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 43 firearms, 41 were loaded and13 had rounds chambered. See a complete list and more photos at the bottom of this post.

Inert Ordnance and Grenades etc. – We continue to find inert hand 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 bomb squad or explosives detection professionals must come to resolve the alarm to determine they’re not a threat. Even if they are novelty items, you cannot bring them on a plane. Read here on why inert items cause problems.


  • Five inert/replica/novelty grenades were discovered in carry-on bags this week. Two were discovered in Salt Lake City (SLC), and the others were found at Baltimore (BWI), Tampa (TPA), and Stewart (SWF).


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.


  • An 8.5” knife was discovered inside an enchilada at the Sonoma County Airport (STS). While this was a great catch, the passenger’s intent was delicious, not malicious, and she was cleared for travel. It’s always important to double check your bags and enchiladas.
  • Twelve credit card knives were discovered this week. Four were discovered at Cincinnati (CVG), three more at Oakland (OAK), and the remainder were discovered Branson (BBG), Charleston (CHS), Colorado Springs (COS), Kansas City (MCI), and Shreveport (SHV). Check out this blog post for more information on credit card knives.
  • A stun gun disguised to look like a cell phone was discovered at Las Vegas (LAS).
  • A knife was found concealed inside of a camera mount at Ft. Lauderdale (FLL).
  • A single round of .22 caliber ammunition was detected inside a bottle of medical cream at Miami (MIA).
  • A cane sword was discovered at Fresno (FAT).

Knife In Enchilada (STS)
Cell Phone Stun Gun (LAS), Cane Sword (FAT), Credit Card Knife (CVG), Knife in Camera Mount (FLL)
.22 Round In Medicinal Cream (MIA)

Knives (Top to Bottom) Discovered at (ABQ) & (LGA)

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 a lot of sharp pointy things…

Stun Guns – Nineteen stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation. Five were discovered at Las Vegas (LAS), two at Dallas (DAL), two at Phoenix (PHX), two more at Sacramento (SMF), and the remainder were discovered at Boise (BOI), Denver (DEN), Sloulin Field (ISN), LaGuardia (LGA), Oklahoma City (OKC), Pensacola (PNS), San Francisco (SFO), and San Jose (SJC).
Firearms Discovered This Week in Carry-On Bags
Guns Discovered at (L-R / T-B) CVG, XNA, TLH, JFK, SBN, MSY, GSP, TUL


*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 $7,500.00.

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

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.

http://blog.tsa.gov/2014/04/tsa-week...overed-in.html