Thread: TSA Week in Review: A Gag Gift Gone Wrong, 49 Firearms Discovered, and Other Interest

Friday, July 19, 2013

TSA Week in Review: A Gag Gift Gone Wrong, 49 Firearms Discovered, and Other Interesting Tidbits

Gag Retirement Gift

Gag Gift – A gag retirement gift designed to look like an improvised explosive device didn’t look like a gag to the TSA Officer who spotted it on the X-ray at St. Petersburg / Clearwater (PIE). With its metal box and wires strewn about, it looked like it could be the real deal.

Loaded Gun (HOU)

49 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 49 firearms, 36 were loaded and 10 had rounds chambered. See a complete list and more photos at the bottom of this post.

Airsoft Guns

Airsoft Guns – Two Airsoft guns were discovered in carry-on baggage at Los Angeles (LAX). Airsoft guns are prohibited in carry-on bags, but allowed in checked baggage. Read this post for more information: TSA Travel Tips Tuesday: Traveling With Airsoft Guns

Stun Guns Discovered at (L-R) DEN, PHX, BWI, MEM, LAS, MDW

Stun Guns – Eight stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation at: Baltimore (BWI), Las Vegas (LAS), Phoenix (PHX), Memphis (MEM), Minneapolis (MSP), St. Louis (STL), Denver (DEN), and Chicago Midway (MDW).

Grenades Discovered at (L-R) SEA, ATL, LAS, SJC

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 realistic bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited - real or not. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays in checkpoint screening. I know they are cool novelty items, but you cannot bring them on a plane. Read here and here on why inert items cause problems.

• Four inert/replica/novelty grenades were discovered this week. Two were in carry-on bags at Las Vegas (LAS), and the others were discovered in checked baggage at Seattle (SEA), and San Jose (SJC).
• An empty M60 igniter was discovered on a key ring at Richmond (RIC). While these do make interesting key rings, they can also be used in harmful ways. So… best not to bring them.

M60 Igniter (RIC)

Cane Sword (LRD), Box Cutter in Shoe (SLC), Credit Card Knife (ABQ) Lipstick Knife (SAT)

Items in the Strangest Places –It’s important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure no prohibited items are inside. If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag, you could be cited and quite possibly arrested by local law enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where prohibited items were found in strange places.

• A three-inch pocketknife was discovered concealed in a passenger’s bra at Honolulu (HNL) after she went through the metal detector.
• A box cutter blade was detected concealed in the shoes of a Salt Lake City (SLC) passenger.
• A 17½-inch sword was detected concealed in the cane of a Laredo (LRD) passenger.
• Two paring knives were discovered concealed inside the lining of a passenger’s bag at Fort Lauderdale (FLL).
• A lipstick knife was discovered in a passenger’s bag at San Antonio (SAT).
• A credit card knife was discovered in a carry-on bag at Albuquerque (ABQ).
• A razor blade was detected in the shoe of a passenger at Phoenix (PHX).

Fireworks (JAX), Flares (PHX)

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…

Knives Discovered at (L-R) BNA, DTW, DTW, OAK, OAK, SAN, FLL, LAX

Firearms Discovered This Week in Carry-On Bags

Loaded Guns and Ammunition Discovered at Tampa

Firearms Discovered at (L-R) SDF, MIA, ORD, MCI, ADQ, BWI

Firearms Discovered at (L-R) RDU, MSP, JAN, ATL, FSM

Firearms Discovered at (L-R) BNA, GPT, AMA, DEN, TPA

Firearms Discovered at (L-R) ATL, CAE, TPA, DTW, LBB

Firearms Discovered at (L-R) FLL, RDU, RIC

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. 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.


*In order to provide a timely weekly update, I compile my data from a preliminary report. The year-end numbers will vary slightly (increase) from what I report in the weekly updates. However, any monthly, midyear, or end-of-year numbers TSA provides on this blog or elsewhere will not be estimates.


If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you check out our post highlighting the dangerous, scary, and downright unusual items our officers found in 2012. The 2011 list can be found here.


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Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team


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