The Transportation Security Administration screened 858 million people last year and discovered guns, throwing knifes and methamphetamine stuffed inside crab boil, among other illegal items.
The agency’s “Top 10 Best Catches of 2023” also included an adult diaper filled with cannabis. The list also included firearms, a continuing problem for TSA officials.
The items were found at airports across the country as TSA officials screened more than 2 million passengers per day at some times. Two of the Top 10 were discovered at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
Here’s the TSA “Top 10 Best Catches of 2023” in order:
10. Naruto throwing knives
9. Replica rockets
8. A knife hidden in bread
7. Meth hidden in crab boil powder (Yes, it was in New Orleans)
6. A 35mm projectile
5. Another knife, this time in a prosthetic
4. A gun with 163 rounds of ammunition.
3. An improvised explosive device
2. Cannabis hidden in an adult diaper
A TSA checkpoint scanner alarmed on a woman’s groin, resulted in a pat down. It turned out that the woman had stashed cannabis in her adult diaper to conceal it from TSA and from her traveling companion, her mom. She told officials that she didn’t want her mother to find out.
1. An inert IED hidden in an energy drink
During 2023, TSA intercepted 6,737 firearms at airport security checkpoints. About 93% of the firearms were loaded. That beats the record of 6,542 firearms stopped at checkpoints in 2022 and represents the highest one-year total in TSA history.
“We are still seeing far too many firearms at TSA checkpoints, and what’s particularly concerning is the amount of them loaded, presenting an unnecessary risk to everyone at the TSA checkpoint,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said. “Firearms and ammunition are strictly prohibited in carry-on baggage. Passengers are only allowed to travel with an unloaded firearm, and only if they pack it properly in a locked, hard-sided case in their checked baggage and first declare it to the airline at the check-in counter.”
In 2023, TSA screened more than 858 million people, which indicates the agency intercepted 7.8 firearms per million passengers, a drop from 8.6 per million passengers in 2022.
