If you’ve been to an airport recently, you know that security is very strict about what you can and can’t take with you. However, some people have tried to sneak contraband items through, and despite their best attempts, they’ve been caught. Here are some of the most unusual things the TSA has discovered:
Animals
It’s shocking how many types of animals people try to get past security. One flyer tried to take over 100 tropical fish and eels in plastic bags on board with him. He was forced to surrender them to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Another woman wrapped two small birds in a sock and taped them to her leg and chest. The bulkiness alerted TSA, and the poor birds were discovered during the pat-down.
Human remains
While in Cuba, two women bought some clay pots at a “religious shop,” which told them the pots could ward off evil spirits. At the airport, it was revealed that the pots actually contained skull fragments. Anthropologists determined that the skulls belonged to a man and a woman who had most likely been buried and then unearthed later. Their skulls were split with a hacksaw and stored in the pots.
In 2013, TSA agents found more than just skull fragments when paperwork from a research facility got mixed up, and a search unveiled 18 embalmed human heads. It isn’t unusual for remains of this kind to travel cross-country, but because of an error, TSA wasn’t expecting them. Can you imagine their surprise?
Novelty “weapons”
The TSA doesn’t appreciate jokes about their rules. That also applies to items passengers try to sneak through, like the giant pair of ceremonial scissors for cutting ribbons confiscated in Nashville. Anything shaped like a weapon is also a terrible idea, as the owner of a set of bullet-shaped whiskey stones learned.
A dead body
In a possible Weekend At Bernie’s scenario, two women were arrested after their 91-year old relative was found dead in a wheelchair at the airport. They insisted they didn’t know he was dead, claiming he “always” slept like that. Their story didn’t convince law enforcement. Why would anyone try to sneak a dead person on an airplane? Transporting a body is far more expensive than simply buying a ticket, so authorities believed the women were trying to pull one over on security.