TSA officers detected a disassembled handgun that had been artfully concealed inside two jars of peanut butter at JFK Airport in December. (TSA photo)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) made it into the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) annual Top 10 List of most unusual items found at security checkpoints nationwide in 2022. TSA released the list in an on-line video it posted on the agency’s YouTube account.
What was the item from the airport that ranked as #3 on the Top 10 List? Read on . . .
TSA officers at JFK Airport stopped a passenger who was traveling with two jars of peanut butter in a checked bag when the bag triggered an alarm. Upon closer inspection, the TSA officers removed parts of a disassembled .22 caliber handgun that had been artfully concealed in what was packaged to look like two unopened jars of peanut butter. Each of the firearm parts had been wrapped in plastic and stuffed into the center of the jars. The gun’s magazine was loaded with bullets.
When the checked bag triggered an alarm in a Terminal 8 X-ray unit, a TSA officer opened the bag and upon closer inspection uncovered the concealed firearm parts. TSA officials notified the Port Authority Police, who came to the checked baggage room, confiscated the items, tracked down the traveler in the terminal and arrested him.
We tweeted about it at the time it was discovered just before Christmas.
When TSA officers come across something that has obviously been tampered with or artfully concealed, they’ll investigate further to make sure that what someone has attempted to hide is not detrimental to the security and safety of the passengers, crew members and aircraft.
For more information on what you can and cannot bring on an airplane, visit www.tsa.gov.