The list, compiled by TSA Dec. 30, included other alarming finds, like a gun inside a raw chicken at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Florida in September, and in New York, a dismantled firearm inside peanut butter jars at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in December and a gun inside an arm sling at the Greater Rochester International Airport in September.
In one instance also in September, TSA officials noted a “jaw-dropping” event from Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia—two cattle prods used for moving livestock in a guitar case—which they said would have been allowed “had the items been packed in a checked bag, but passengers certainly cannot carry an electric cattle prod into the cabin of an aircraft.”
TSA officials said that another cattle prod was detected in a carry-on bag in May, also at Dulles Airport.
“That item also was not permitted to go through the security checkpoint,” TSA officials said in a statement late last month.
Drugs found in hair scrunchies made their way to No. 6 on the list at the Boise Airport in Idaho. Ranking No. 7 was a gun found inside a PlayStation at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Georgia last month. An inert grenade in July at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Wisconsin and soiled money inside crutches were at the bottom of the list at El Paso International Airport in Texas.
TSA officials said last year they recovered 10 percent more firearms compared to 2021 nationwide and prevented roughly 6,600 firearms from being taken onboard in carry-on bags. Over 88 percent of those recovered firearms were loaded.
“I applaud the work of our Transportation Security Officers who do an excellent job of preventing firearms from getting into the secure area of airports, and onboard aircraft,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement Dec. 16.
