14 DAY TRIAL // A report recently released by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shows just how creative people get when trying to get something past airport security.
The figures show that since January, a number of 375,432,402 individuals have passed through TSA checkpoints. In the first half of 2012, some of these passengers attempted to sneak by with a number of items that can be highly dangerous, to say the least.
“From January to July, there have been 821 firearms discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country. That’s almost four firearms per day! Of those, 691 were loaded, and 210 were locked and loaded with a round chambered. The most popular caliber so far has been the compact .380 with 197 found this year,” Bob Burns of the TSA wrote.
However, there were other, even more dangerous, items discovered by airport security. For instance, a bottle filled with flash powder, M-80 fireworks, a cannonball, a live high explosive grenade and a live blasting cap.
Some of the confiscated items looked like they presented a threat, but they turned out to be inert. These included detonators, claymore mines, warheads, mortar rounds, bazooka rounds, grenades, firing devices and explosives.
Dead venomous snakes, eels, a spear gun, a gassed up chainsaw, a chastity belt, a grenade launcher, throwing knives, and various weapons that resembled lipstick were also identified.
The more creative individuals came up with some interesting ways to hide their weapons. One attempted to get a knife past security by attaching it to a walker and another one tried to sneak by with a gun placed inside a hollowed out book.
As far as firearms are concerned, one individual disassembled a gun and placed it in three stuffed animals. Another one concealed a pistol in a potted plant.