All Packed
For most of us, the hardest decisions we have to make when packing our luggage is how many pairs of pants to bring, and whether or not we need that extra pair of shoes or if the ones we're wearing on the flight will be enough. But maybe that's just me. Because it turns out there are people out there who are packing cattle prods and weapons stuffed in poultry along with their dress shirts and phone chargers.
These are the weirdest, craziest, and most unusual things that TSA agents have found in people's luggage...
Stuffed Chicken
I know you were all wondering about that stuffed poultry one. So, here is it. The item in question was discovered in someone's luggage on November 7, 2022 and honestly, a whole raw chicken would've been weird enough. But this person took it to another level by stuffing a firearm inside the chicken. It was wrapped, though (we assume, in order to protect against any salmonella getting on the handle).
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Moose Poop
Yup, TSA agents at the Juneau International Airport found a bag of literal moose droppings in one traveler's baggage. But wait, it gets better. You see, the guy told the agents that he had collected the droppings to give to politicians he didn't like. But wait, it gets even better. The agents—deeming the poop nonthreatening—let the man keep it.
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Not So Sweet Candy
At first glance, it might've appeared that this person just had a really big sweet tooth, given all the bags and boxes of candy they had in their luggage as they went through LAX. However, when TSA officers opened up those bags and boxes, they didn't find Skittles and Sweet Tarts—they found over 12,000 fentanyl pills.
patchara panchan, Shutterstock
A Grenade
On July 29, 2022, TSA agents at Milwaukee Mitchell Airport found a hand grenade in one passenger's carry-on bag. The bomb squad was called in—but thankfully the grenade was found to be inert.
Maggots
We want to say that a passenger tried to sneak maggots past security in his luggage but according to the TSA agents who stopped the guy, the smell was overwhelming and the maggots were spilling out of the bag. The entire area was vacated and decontaminated.
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Pet Turtle
Yes, you are generally allowed to bring small pets with you. So, what was the problem with the pet turtle discovered by agents at the Spokane International Airport? Well, it wasn't what they found—but where they found it. The guy was carrying the live turtle in his pants! Which, big surprise, is not a "proper carrying case".
And while we're talking about animals in pants...
International Fund for Animal Welfare, Pexels
Snakes In Pants
At the Miami International Airport, some guy tried getting two live snakes past security by putting them in his pants.
Baby Oil In Breadfruit
TSA agents at the Honolulu International Airport found bundles of breadfruit in a passenger's carry-on. That wasn't the problem, though. The issue is that in one of the fruits, the passenger had stuffed a bottle of baby oil that was more than 3.4 ounces. I have so many questions about this one.
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Samurai Swords
I'm not sure if the person actually thought they were allowed to bring samurai swords on the plane with them, but it didn't take long for agents at the San Jose International Airport to confiscate the, not one, but three samurai swords one passenger had packed.
Pet Snake
This one wasn't actually discovered by a TSA agent, but rather by a traveler at the Newark Liberty International Airport (no it wasn't Samuel L Jackson)—who happened to notice a five-inch ring-necked snake gliding along the floor in the terminal (the snake's owner had forgotten him at the security checkpoint).
Five inches is nothing compared to...
A Boa Constrictor
One traveler at the Tampa International Airport tried to get a four-foot long boa constrictor past security stuffed in their roller bag amongst their clothes. The TSA found it pretty quickly, though, when the bag went through the x-ray machine.
Frame Stock Footage, Shutterstock
Cattle Prods
Yes, about those cattle prods. Well, they were discovered by TSA officers at the Dulles International Airport in September of 2022. They were found inside a traveler's carry-on guitar case (along with a guitar). Interesting to note that the prods weren't confiscated, though—and the passenger was allowed to repack them in his checked baggage.
A Little Shark
A small shark in a jar. That is what one traveler tried to take on a plane at the Syracuse Hancock International Airport before he was stopped by TSA agents. Although, it wasn't the little shark that was the problem. It was the liquid in the jar: The liquid chemical preservative was deemed hazardous—and it was also more than 3.4 ounces.
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Stuffed PlayStation
What's crazier? Trying to get a weapon past security stuffed in a whole raw chicken, or inside of a gutted out PlayStation? A TSA agent at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport flagged the gaming console when it went through the x-ray machine.
To quote the TSA Instagram post regarding the find: "Our officers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport powered down this passenger’s poor packing choice".
Huge Teddy Bear
Turns out the size restrictions airlines have for luggage also applies to teddy bears—as one traveler found out when they tried to bring a human-sized teddy bear on the plane. TSA agents at LAX denied the bear entry as it was so big it would've required its own seat. Not sure if the person could've bought another ticket for the bear or not.
Kleymenov Valery, Shutterstock
Naruto Throwing Knives
If you want to bring a Naruto anime toy on the plane, go for it. You have a Naruto comic? Toss it in your carry-on, no problem. But Naruto-themed throwing knives...nope! Those will need to go in your checked baggage—as a traveler at Boston's Logan International Airport found out in 2023.
From throwing knives to wearing knives...
Frame Stock Footage, Shutterstock
Freddy Krueger Gloves
In case you were wondering—just because the knives are attached to gloves, doesn't make them acceptable to be in your carry-on. Which is what one traveler at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport discovered when he tried to bring a pair of Freddy Krueger gloves with him through security.
Live Eels
Agents at the Miami International Airport once confiscated a bag of live eels from a passenger's baggage. But those eels were only a small part of the entire smuggling plan...
Tropical Fish And Invertebrates
The plan was to smuggle a whole bunch of marine life out of the US and into Venezuela. Along with that bag of eels, the agents also found 163 marine tropical fish and 22 invertebrates in the checked-bags.
From the water to the sky...
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Birds
TSA agents noticed a woman wearing some rather bulky clothes and decided to pat her down. Upon doing so, they discovered two birds wrapped in socks and taped to her body (legs and chest). She was arrested "on suspicion of smuggling and exporting an endangered species out of the United States".
Frame Stock Footage, Shutterstock
Batarangs
Yup, someone tried to bring Batarangs onto a plane. They are considered knives and not allowed on board. This is why Batman flies private.
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Laptop Knife
Someone wanted to bring a knife on the plane with them so badly on November 15, 2022 that they opened up the casing of their laptop computer and taped the double-bladed knife inside.
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Crab Boil Methamphetamines
Sealed food containers are allowed on planes but not without passing an inspection by TSA agents—even if the containers appear to be factory sealed. Which was the case with a container of crab boil seasoning. It looked factory sealed, but when agents opened it up they found a pound of methamphetamines inside it.
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Stuffed Peanut Butter
A few days before Christmas in 2022, TSA agents at John F Kennedy International Airport discovered jars of Jif peanut butter stuffed with disassembled parts of a firearm—including a loaded magazine.
PB & Mary Jane
Not sure why people think jars of peanut butter are such a good way to conceal illegal items, but that was what a traveler at the Asheville Regional Airport used to try and sneak a bag of pot past security.
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Crutches
A methamphetamine addiction is a crutch—but at the Portsmouth International Airport, one traveler took that literally and tried to get the drug past security by wrapping it in electrical tape and putting it inside a crutch.
Crutched Money
It looks like crutches are like peanut butter in that it is a go to for trying to hide stuff from airport security. At the El Paso International Airport, agents found what they called "soiled money" in crutches. That was all the report said. You can make up your own mind as to what "soiled" means.
Ceremonial scissors
You know those huge oversized scissors that people use at ribbon-cutting ceremonies? Well, TSA officers at the Nashville International Airport confiscated a pair from a traveler—for safety reasons, of course.
Antique Weapons
It's not the "antique" part that got this passenger's items held by security at the Kahului Regional Airport in Hawaii—but rather the "weapon" part. First, there was the old cannonball. Even without a cannon, this is not allowed on a plane.
Unknon Author, Wikimedia Commons
Antique Weapons
Along with the cannonball, this passenger also tried bringing an antique flare firearm through security. You might not need a license to carry one—but you still ain't getting it on a plane!
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Vape In Toothpaste
At the Chicago Midway International Airport, agents found a passenger trying to sneak a vape pen through the airport in a travel-size tube of toothpaste. The strangest part though: vapes are allowed in carry-on bags.
Human Skull
TSA agents were screening a passenger's clay pots when they discovered something rather alarming...fragments of a human skull. Supposedly, the traveler wasn't aware that there were skull fragments in their pots, and they obviously weren't a security threat. To quote the TSA: "The fragments weren't a security threat, but they slowed down the screening process because the screening area became a crime scene".
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Stuffed Teapot
Yup, yet another passenger trying to outsmart the TSA by stuffing a weapon inside something else. This time it was a teapot in which they placed the wrapped up parts of a firearm. Oh, yeah—and they also put shot glasses in the teapot for some reason.
Replica IED
What was he thinking!? A traveler actually went through security at the El Paso International Airport with a replica improvised explosive device (IED) he had made with a walkie-talkie.
Stuffed Baby Stroller
At the William P Hobby Airport in Houston, TSA agents stopped one passenger who tried to get through the airport with a firearm in the back pocket of their baby's stroller.
Ekaterina Pokrovsky, Shutterstock
Knife In Shoe
It's because of people like this that we still have to take our shoes off when we go through security. Because every now and then, TSA agents actually find things in people's shoes. Like the knife in the shoe of a passenger at the Williamsburg International Airport in Virginia. The passenger's response to the discovery: "I didn't know it was in there".
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
Knife In Enchilada
One traveler brought a whole enchilada with a knife inside it. Mentioning the incident on their Instagram page, the TSA wrote: "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".
7 Network, Border Security: Australia's Front Line (2004-)
90!
In 2021 a TSA agent flagged a woman's carry-on bag at LAX when they noticed what looked like a few illegal items during the x-ray scan. Well, it wasn't a few. It was a lot. 90 to be exact: 82 fireworks, three knives, two replica firearms, and a canister of pepper spray.
Arrow Media, Ultimate Airport Dubai (2013-15)
Lots Of Stuffed...
You might've noticed a number of the items on this list were firearms. Well, those were just a few of the many, many, many that were found by TSA agents. In fact, in 2022 alone, TSA reported confiscating a record 6,301 firearms (many of which were loaded).
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