A disassembled laptop reveals a double-bladed knife that had been concealed inside the computer. (TSA photo)
RICHMOND, Va. – A man from Williamsburg, Va., was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers at a Richmond International Airport security checkpoint after they detected a double-bladed knife that was concealed inside the inner workings of his laptop.
The TSA officer who was staffing the checkpoint X-ray machine on Friday, Nov. 11, spotted what appeared to be a knife inside the man’s carry-on bag. The contents of the bag were searched, but at first no knife was spotted until each item in the carry-on bag was separated and re-introduced through the X-ray machine. At that point the X-ray image indicated that the knife was inside the laptop and required closer inspection. After obtaining tools that could disassemble the laptop, a double-edged knife was found to have been artfully concealed inside the guts of the computer.
The traveler initially claimed that he had no idea that there was a knife inside his laptop, however after the knife was revealed, he confirmed that the knife was his.
“This was a superb job on the part of our officers to first identify the threat and then work in partnership with the Capital Region Airport Commission Police to obtain tools that were necessary to disassemble the laptop to reveal the knife,” said Robin “Chuck” Burke, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Detecting artfully concealed weapons points to the training and skill of our officers who are focused on their mission to ensure that prohibited items that could cause harm are not carried onto flights. The traveler now faces a stiff federal financial civil penalty.”
TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who bring weapons to a security checkpoint. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online. If a traveler with a weapon is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.