TSA releases top 10 list of ‘most unusual items’ found in bags
(NEXSTAR) — Don’t try to pretend like you bought that “meth-rrito” at the airport’s food court.
The Transportation Security Administration has released its annual list of the “most unusual” things confiscated at airport checkpoints, and 2021’s batch includes a deodorant stick filled with bullets, a machete with a 16-inch blade and the aforementioned “meth-rrito”: a breakfast burrito stuffed with crystal meth.
But maybe the most unusual item of all — at least according to the TSA — was the chain saw that a traveler attempted to bring through security in New Orleans.
“Can’t stump us,” the TSA joked in a video posted to the agency’s Twitter account.
The TSA’s complete list of most unusual finds is as follows:
- Chain saw, found at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
- Wine-bottle holder made to resemble a cluster of revolvers, found at Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
- ‘Assortment’ of fireworks and pyrotechnic devices, found at Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR)
- Machete*, found at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
- Canister of bear spray, found at Destin-Fort-Walton Beach Airport (VPS)
- ‘Well-worn’ cleaver, found at Harrisburg International Airport (MDT)
- Firearm concealed in a belt buckle, found at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)
- Crystal meth concealed in a breakfast burrito, found at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
- Long-barreled antique-style revolver, found at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- Bullets concealed in a deodorant stick, found at Atlantic City International Airport (ACY)
*The same passenger attempted to bring ammunition and a canister of butane fuel, according to the TSA.
The TSA releases its annual list of the most unusual items found or confiscated by its officers to make the public aware of what passengers can and cannot bring through U.S. security checkpoints. The list also serves to highlight the work that TSA does to ensure the protection of U.S. passengers.
“They worked hard to keep travelers safe as they returned to the skies,” TSA wrote of its officers’ efforts.
This year’s list, meanwhile, might not even be as “unusual” as last year’s. Among the prohibited items found by TSA officers in 2020, one passenger attempted to bring a dead baby shark floating in a chemical preservative.
More information on items prohibited by the TSA can be found at the agency’s official website.