The Craziest Things Found by Airport Security
In 2022, customs officers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi arrested a man who was trying to smuggle melted gold worth approximately 37,000 US dollars.
The man, whose identity was not disclosed, had cleverly hidden the gold in a small pouch under a wig.
Additionally, he had concealed two capsule-shaped gold packages inside his body.
A video released by customs officers shows the moment the wig was removed and a pouch of melted gold became visible on his bald head.
The man, who held an Indian passport, had traveled from Abu Dhabi and was arrested as he was leaving his flight.
Transporting gold on flights is not illegal in itself, but passengers must declare the amount they are bringing in or taking out and pay the required taxes.
One can only imagine the stress this man must have felt throughout the entire flight, only to be caught in the end.
In February 2023, agriculture specialists from the US Customs and Border Protection agency made a surprising discovery at Detroit Airport.
During an inspection of unclaimed international luggage that had been accidentally separated from its owner, a routine X-ray scan revealed a skull-shaped object.
Further investigation by border agents and the US Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that it was the skull of a young dolphin.
Certain wildlife species and products derived from them are subject to import and export restrictions, prohibitions, or special permit requirements.
This applies to wild birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, shellfish, and other invertebrates, as well as their parts or products such as hides, ivory, bones, feathers, and eggs.
The possession of such items is strictly prohibited.
Therefore, the dolphin skull was handed over to US Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Officers for further investigation.
On Wednesday, February 12, 2020, airport security at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, discovered something even more bizarre.
They found approximately four and a half million rupees in foreign currencies cleverly hidden in peanuts, cookies, and lamb curry.
During the operation, banknotes in various currencies were found, including Saudi riyals, Qatari riyals, Kuwaiti dinars, Omani riyals, and euros.
The money belonged to a passenger named Murat Alam, who was traveling to Dubai on a tourist visa.
According to reports, he had made several international trips before he was finally caught.
Videos show CISF officers breaking open peanuts and carefully pulling out tightly rolled banknotes.
Even the bones in the curry turned out to be cylindrical objects containing money.
Sealed cookie packages also contained hidden cash.
Both the man and the confiscated money were handed over to customs for further investigation.
Murat, a resident of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, claimed he was simply transporting the food packages on behalf of his employer.
Pretty creative, right?
At Berlin Schönefeld Airport, a 69-year-old man was stopped by customs officers while going through security with a donut box.
Instead of donuts or pastries, however, the box contained three live Moroccan land tortoises.
The man had just returned from Cairo, Egypt, where he had illegally acquired the tortoises to smuggle them into Germany.
When asked about the contents of the box, he initially claimed that the tortoise-shaped objects were chocolates.
His lie was quickly 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓭.
Moroccan land tortoises are protected under the CITES agreement, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The tortoises were confiscated and handed over to a veterinarian.
Unfortunately, smugglers often use dangerous methods to transport animals.
In recent years, tortoises have become a popular target for the pet trade and for consumption.
Illegal trade poses a serious threat to the survival of many species, especially those that are already rare in the wild.
Fortunately, these tortoises survived their adventure in the donut box.
In 2023, a weapon-like rocket launcher powerful enough to destroy a military tank was confiscated in the abandoned luggage of a passenger in Texas.
The traveler had failed to declare the weapon to the authorities, as required by the Transportation Security Administration.
During an inspection at San Antonio International Airport, TSA agents discovered an 84mm anti-tank weapon resembling an M3 Carl Gustav.
Although this weapon is legal in Texas, it requires a thorough background check.
Even though firearms may be transported in checked luggage, travelers must declare them when checking in with the airline.
Additionally, they must be unloaded and securely stored in a hard-shell case.
Due to its size, this type of weapon normally requires two people to operate it, one person to aim and another to load the ammunition.
The maintenance team of Jet Airways in Kolkata, India, was performing a routine check of a commercial aircraft when they discovered two bags in the airplane’s toilet.
At first glance, they did not find it strange, thinking a passenger had accidentally left the bags behind.
However, when checking the contents, they discovered 24 gold bars with a total weight of 24 kilograms, a pretty staggering amount.
According to flight data, the aircraft flew from Mumbai to Bangkok, Thailand, and then returned to Kolkata for the night.
No one came forward to claim the gold bars, which heightened suspicion that the bars had been stolen.
Over the years, the number of gold smuggling cases in India has increased.
The country has even been identified as a destination country for gold smuggling.
Authorities suspect that approximately 200 tons of gold are smuggled into the country each year.
In October 2011, Swiss customs arrested a man at Zurich Airport for carrying six boxes containing hundreds of endangered spiders.
In these carefully packed boxes were 261 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas, each wrapped in a small plastic bag.
This spider species is not only endangered but also highly venomous to humans, making it dangerous to bring them on an airplane.
The man came from the Dominican Republic and intended to hand the tarantulas over to a Swiss dealer.
According to the man, he could have sold the spiders for about 10,500 euros on the black market.
Authorities later searched the dealer’s apartment, where additional exotic species were found, including 665 tarantulas and 72 carnivorous centipedes.
The spiders were eventually taken to a veterinarian, examined, and released.
What was confiscated at an airport in Solihull, England, was indeed very strange.
It was a giant pumpkin that weighed as much as a small child.
The pumpkin weighed about 27 kilograms and was over one meter long.
One might wonder why someone had brought such a large pumpkin to the airport.
Alongside the giant pumpkin, 80 kilograms of fish and 94,000 smuggled cigarettes were also found.
Additionally, they found 600 kilograms of metal leaves that can be used for chewing or smoking.
The boxes containing the leaves had been mislabeled in a desperate attempt to get them through customs.
The European Union has since banned the import of these leaves as well.
What happened to the giant pumpkin remains unclear.
A Malaysian man nearly succeeded in getting his suitcases with 95 live boa constrictors through customs, but because one of the suitcases was so full, it burst open at Kuala Lumpur Airport.
Boa constrictors are constricting snakes that can grow very large.
The man also had a rare rhinoceros viper and a mata mata turtle with him.
These two animals can be sold for high sums on the black market.
However, it was not the first time the man had been caught smuggling exotic animals.
In 1998, he was reportedly arrested in Mexico, and in 2001, he was sentenced to six years in prison after being caught with about 300 different reptiles he had brought from Africa.
This time, however, he had to pay a fine of 53,000 euros and was sentenced to six months in prison.
The next person decided not to smuggle animals or objects, but the man wanted to flee the country and decided to roll himself up in a suitcase.
The following video was recorded at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru.
The unknown man asked a friend to smuggle him out of the country by hiding in a suitcase.
Unfortunately, this was a difficult task for the friend, who began to get nervous.
This made the security personnel suspicious.
Suspicion was further heightened when one of the airport’s sniffer dogs picked up a scent.
The friend tried to deny it, but when they opened the suitcase, it was too late.
A Japanese man was arrested at Perth Airport in Australia after attempting to fly to Japan with 13 live bobtail lizards in his luggage.
The incident occurred when an X-ray scan detected a suspicious package in his suitcase.
Customs officers found seven adult bobtail lizards and six baby lizards hidden in cotton bags inside a children’s suitcase with transport motifs.
Western Australian bobtails can fetch up to 10,000 US dollars each on the international black market.
The Department of Parks and Wildlife reported that the confiscated lizards were in poor condition but promised to do everything possible to rehabilitate them.
The man was charged by the Australian Border Force for attempting to export a protected native species.
He appeared in court and applied for bail, but he could face additional charges for smuggling protected wildlife.
The maximum penalty for wildlife trafficking in Australia is 10 years in prison and or a fine of 180,000 US dollars.
A man from Williamsburg, Virginia, was arrested after security officers discovered a double-sided knife cleverly hidden inside his laptop.
The incident occurred on Friday, November 11, 2022, at Richmond International Airport.
While monitoring the X-ray scanner, a TSA agent noticed a sharp object in the man’s carry-on luggage.
An initial search of the bag revealed nothing, but after a second scan, it turned out that the knife was hidden inside the laptop, requiring a more detailed inspection.
Using tools, the officers disassembled the laptop and found the double-sided knife carefully stowed inside the casing.
The traveler initially claimed he had no idea there was a knife in his laptop but later admitted it belonged to him.
The TSA has the authority to impose fines on passengers who attempt to smuggle weapons through security checkpoints.
A 58-year-old unidentified Vietnamese man was stopped at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow, Russia, after his luggage was checked.
In his luggage were five baby lemurs and five baby monkeys, which he kept in wicker baskets.
According to customs officials, the animals appeared to be under extreme stress.
When they were taken out of the baskets, one could see the fear and confusion in their faces.
One of the agents tried to offer one of the baby monkeys a piece of apple, but they were too stressed to eat.
Although holes had been drilled for them to breathe, they had neither food nor water.
The Vietnamese man was eventually taken into custody for questioning and will likely face a long prison sentence.
In June 2022, airport officials made a remarkable discovery when they found more than 10 kilograms of contraband hidden in an electric wheelchair.
The discovery took place at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.
According to airport security, Alexander Lopez Morell, a 22-year-old passenger from the Dominican Republic, was using the wheelchair when authorities approached him.
Upon further inspection, officers found packages hidden in the seat cushions of the wheelchair.
It turned out to be illegal drugs, over 10 kilograms in total, with an estimated street value of approximately 378,000 US dollars.
Alexander was arrested and charged, while the contraband was confiscated and handed over to several authorities for further investigation.
Smugglers sometimes also resort to swallowing liquid substances using small packets to discreetly transport illegal drugs.
A man from Rhode Island was arrested in 2023 after TSA agents discovered parts of a semi-automatic firearm hidden in two peanut butter jars in his luggage.
According to the TSA, a checked bag containing the peanut butter jars triggered an alarm on an X-ray scanner on December 22 at JFK Airport.
Upon close inspection, officers found plastic-wrapped weapon parts stuffed and hidden inside two jars of peanut butter.
Although the parts were cleverly hidden in the creamy peanut butter, nothing about this smuggling attempt went smoothly.
Port Authority police confiscated the weapon parts and arrested the man.
Travelers who wish to transport firearms on an aircraft must have the proper permits, declare their weapons, and pack them according to TSA regulations.
Attempting to transport undeclared firearms can result in fines of up to 15,000 US dollars.
In 2022, a clever cat tried to sneak onto a Thanksgiving vacation before being discovered by TSA agents.
The orange cat was found at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York when an officer noticed orange fur sticking out of the zipper of a suitcase.
A TSA spokesperson told a news outlet that the traveler did not know there was a cat in his luggage.
The officer was apparently shocked by the furry surprise in the checked luggage that had already gone through an X-ray scan.
The traveler claimed the cat belonged to someone else in his household.
A photo shared on social media showed tufts of orange fur sticking out of the partially opened black suitcase.
Fortunately, the cat was safely returned home.
When reporters contacted the owner, Ali, she revealed that the cat named Smells had probably crawled into the suitcase while she was at work.
She did not notice that the orange tomcat was missing until she received a call from an airport employee.
An officer even asked if she wanted to file a police report, suspecting the traveler had tried to steal her cat and take it to Florida.
But Ali assured them that her cats loved hiding in boxes.
Her fiancé drove to JFK Airport to pick up the frightened cat, but Smells seemed hardly impressed by the incident.
The film classic A Nightmare on Elm Street from 1984 is one of the most famous horror movies of all time.
Freddy Krueger was the main character, and one of his characteristic items was his glove.
Customs managed to arrest a man who was trying to smuggle a replica of this glove through Atlanta Airport in the USA.
The man should have known that a glove with metal claws is not allowed on an airplane.
I could not find out whether the man received a fine, but customs took the matter with humor.
In a comment on Instagram, they revealed that it was safe to sleep on Elm Street again because Freddy had lost his glove at the airport.
In January 2025, India is among the ten countries where the aviation sector is most frequently exploited for illegal wildlife trafficking.
Recently, authorities at New Delhi International Airport arrested a Canadian man after finding a crocodile skull in his luggage.
The 32-year-old man, whose identity was not disclosed, was on his way to Canada when he was stopped at a security checkpoint.
During the inspection, officers found a skull with sharp teeth that resembled that of a young crocodile.
The skull, which weighed approximately 777 grams, was wrapped in a cream-colored cloth.
Investigations revealed that the skull belonged to a protected species covered under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, leading to charges for violating both this law and customs regulations.
The skull was handed over to the Department of Forestry and Wildlife for laboratory examination to gather further details about the specimen.
According to a report by a nonprofit organization that monitors wildlife trafficking, the aviation sector in India is increasingly being used for animal smuggling.
Between 2011 and 2020, 141 wildlife seizures involving 146 different species were recorded at Indian airports.
Reptiles, including crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and turtles, were the most commonly smuggled, accounting for 46 percent of all seizures.
In February 2012, TSA agents made an unusual discovery at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.
They found an 18th-century cannonball encrusted with coral in an abandoned suitcase.
According to TSA officers, a diver had recovered the cannonball from a shipwreck.
Due to its potential explosion risk, the historical artifact was still classified as dangerous.
TSA officers immediately evacuated the baggage area to ensure the safety of travelers and airport personnel.
The situation escalated when a bomb disposal team was called in to examine the cannonball.
As a result, three flights were delayed, affecting approximately 290 passengers who were waiting for their departures.
Ultimately, the TSA confiscated the cannonball to ensure it was safely removed and no longer posed a threat.
Imagine being nervous about your flight already, only to then find out it is delayed because of an 18th-century cannonball.
At Bangkok Airport, a woman was caught trying to smuggle a tiger cub out of the country.
And the way she did it nearly succeeded.
The woman planned to fly to Iran, but customs knew something was wrong at check-in because she was behaving quite awkwardly.
She was carrying a much too large suitcase, and when it went through the X-ray machine, they saw that something was hidden inside.
They opened the suitcase, and what they saw were a few stuffed tiger toys.
She almost got away with it, but they decided to examine the suitcase more closely and discovered a lifelike two-month-old tiger cub amidst the stuffed animals.
The woman was immediately arrested, and the cub was taken to an animal shelter.
Had the woman been successful, the tiger could have been sold on the black market for about 2,800 euros.
The US Transportation Security Administration uses advanced scanning technology at airports to ensure passenger safety and prevent the transport of prohibited items.
In April 2019, however, an unusual incident occurred at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
During a routine inspection of checked luggage, the alarm system was triggered, and the scan showed an unusual object in the suitcase, leading to further investigation.
When officers opened the suitcase, they found a DVD player among the passenger’s belongings.
Since the device looked suspicious, they examined it more closely.
When the officers opened the DVD player, they discovered a 9mm firearm wrapped in aluminum foil and hidden inside the casing.
The weapon was unloaded at the time of discovery, which was an important factor, but the situation remained serious.
TSA protocols require immediate action when weapons are found to assess and neutralize potential threats.
The TSA alerted the port authorities, who quickly tracked down the suspect while he was waiting for his flight to Mexico.
Instead of boarding his flight, the man was arrested and charged with weapons possession and smuggling.
Security officers at Miami International Airport stopped a woman who was trying to board a plane with a python wrapped in a nylon stocking and hidden inside a computer hard drive.
The TSA reported that officers prevented an incident that seemed like a scene from Snakes on a Plane.
An agent discovered the python during baggage screening, and the TSA even joked about it on Instagram.
Agent Neville Flynn would have been proud of the airport staff who prevented this snake flight.
The traveler was on her way to Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados and had tried to hide the snake in her checked luggage.
Although the python posed no direct threat to passengers, the presence of an organic object inside an electronic device raised security concerns.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service was called in, confiscated the snake, and imposed a fine on the traveler.
Unfortunately, both the passenger and the snake missed their flight.
In 2023, airport security was temporarily interrupted after a suspicious item was discovered in a passenger’s luggage.
Upon closer inspection, however, the find turned out to be far less alarming than initially feared.
On September 18 at around 8 a.m., security screening at Salt Lake City International Airport was interrupted after X-ray images showed a skull-shaped object with unknown components inside, triggering alarms among TSA agents.
Officers even suspected it could be an improvised explosive device.
As a precaution, Salt Lake City police, TSA explosive experts, and a sniffer dog were called in.
When law enforcement questioned the passenger, he explained that the suspicious item was actually a medical training skull model used for surgical practice.
The plastic head model, filled with moldable material, a 9-volt battery, and a sensor, was designed to help surgeons practice lobotomies.
The traveler was on his way to a trade fair in Cancun, Mexico, and had no malicious intentions.
The next man decided to smuggle not one, not two, but 94 iPhones.
He had not hidden the phones in a suitcase but had taped them all over his body.
Each phone was wrapped in foil and then taped to his skin.
Customs found him suspicious because he seemed to have difficulty walking, as if he were carrying something heavy.
Since the man was also carrying two plastic bags, they decided to check those first but found nothing.
When they asked him to walk through the metal detector, the alarms went off.
The man had actually stolen the iPhones and decided to smuggle them through Hong Kong into China to sell them there.
To the man’s dismay, this did not work out.
Have you ever wondered if you can take a live lobster on an airplane?
The answer is yes, but there are strict rules that must be followed.
To transport a live lobster by plane, it must be kept in a clear, plastic, leak-proof, spill-proof container.
A transparent, leak-proof container allows TSA officers to inspect the lobster without opening the packaging while preventing spills or hazards during the flight.
Additionally, the lobster must be scanned at the TSA security checkpoint to ensure it complies with safety regulations.
In June 2017, TSA regulations regarding lobsters came into the spotlight when TSA spokesperson Michael McCarthy shared a photo of an officer holding an enormous 9-kilogram live lobster.
The crustacean was found in checked luggage at Boston Logan International Airport.
Despite its enormous size and impressive claws, the lobster complied with all TSA regulations and was allowed to continue its journey without any problems.
On January 27, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection intercepted a package containing small dead birds in a passenger’s luggage at Washington Dulles International Airport.
The traveler had arrived from Beijing and was planning to travel to Prince George’s County, Maryland.
The package had pictures of a cat and a dog on it, and the passenger claimed it contained pet food.
However, upon inspection, officers found birds that were 6 to 9 centimeters long.
Due to the risk of bird flu, the US Department of Agriculture immediately incinerated the package.
Importing such birds is prohibited in the United States because unprocessed birds pose significant risks to the poultry industry and public health.
In July 2024, staff at Vancouver International Airport experienced a slippery situation.
Videos appeared on social media showing dozens of live eels sliding across the tarmac near an Air Canada aircraft.
According to airport staff, the incident occurred when a container of eels unexpectedly burst open while the aircraft was being unloaded.
Air Canada confirmed that the flight had arrived from Toronto and the container was accidentally torn open during unloading, allowing some of the eels to escape.
Fortunately, the loose eels were quickly collected and repackaged.
Air Canada stated that they were in contact with the sender of the shipment to ensure the problem was properly resolved.
This bizarre incident definitely added an unexpected twist to airport operations that day.
A woman flying from Singapore to Melbourne was caught smuggling 51 live tropical fish under her skirt.
This attempt also nearly succeeded.
The fish were well hidden in a specially made apron that she had placed under her skirt.
It seemed that everything was well planned.
But when customs decided to search her, they heard sounds coming from the fish.
The suspicious customs officers then took a closer look and found 15 plastic bags filled with water in her apron, containing the fish.
One of the fish was an Asian arowana, an endangered species worth up to 26,500 euros.
The woman’s apartment was also searched, and more fish were found there.
She was eventually sentenced to nine months of community service.
Do you think she deserved more?
During a recent security screening at Bradley Airport, TSA agents made a remarkable discovery, a taser disguised as a lipstick along with three loose bullets.
This incident underscores the importance of understanding which items are allowed in carry-on luggage and checked baggage.
This particular item is strictly prohibited in carry-on luggage.
A photo of the lipstick taser shows a device that looks like an ordinary red lipstick, complete with a button on the side.
However, this seemingly harmless lipstick is actually an electroshock weapon.
Tasers are prohibited in carry-on luggage but may be transported in checked baggage as long as they are securely packed.
This precaution is necessary to prevent accidental discharge.
Some tasers contain lithium batteries, which pose additional risks if not transported properly.
In 2013, a Canadian woman was caught trying to smuggle 2 kilograms of contraband using a 𝒻𝒶𝓀𝑒 pregnancy belly.
The 28-year-old, Richie Tabatha Lea, was arrested by airport security at El Dorado Airport in Bogota, Colombia, after officers noticed her suspicious behavior.
She was about to board a flight back to Toronto, Canada, when authorities conducted a thorough inspection.
They discovered that Lea was not actually seven months pregnant but was wearing a latex prosthesis designed to mimic a pregnant belly.
Inside the prosthesis were two packages, each containing one kilogram of illegal substances, with an estimated street value of 60,000 US dollars in Canada.
According to airport security, Lea’s aggressive behavior further heightened suspicion about her alleged pregnancy.
Lea, who had been in Colombia since August 6, claimed she was visiting friends.
She was already the 94th foreign traveler arrested at Colombian airports for 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 smuggling in 2013.
Have you ever carried something that was stopped by airport security?
Let us know in the comments.
