According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), on Wednesday, security officials at LaGuardia Airport in New York made an exceptional discovery of 17 bullets concealed inside a disposable baby diaper.
During the X-ray screening of a passenger’s carry-on bag, officers noticed something unusual that led to an unfolding incident. The alarm was triggered by a diaper, which appeared clean at first but later revealed bullets upon further inspection. According to TSA reports, the man from Arkansas who was ticketed for Chicago’s Midway Airport flight claimed ignorance about it and reasoned out that his girlfriend might have put it in there instead.
Although the passenger’s identity was not disclosed by TSA, he received a citation from Port Authority police for having unlawful possession of 9mm ammunition. Our efforts to gather further information from airport operations (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) as well as the Queens district attorney’s office were fruitless.
At LaGuardia Airport, passengers have been repeatedly caught with bullets and even firearms. One such incident involved the discovery of a .45-caliber pistol and six-bullet magazine concealed within Nike sneakers in checked luggage. While guns can be included as checked baggage, they must be stored securely inside locked hard cases – not hidden away in footwear.
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In January 2021, a passenger was charged with unlawful possession after security officials intercepted 13 bullets hidden inside a Mentos chewing gum container. Another incident occurred in April when officers discovered over 100 bullets and a loaded .22-caliber pistol in a carry-on bag of which the passenger claimed forgetfulness following his visit to the shooting range. Nevertheless, he was arrested by police afterward.