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There are a great deal of restrictions on what you can and can't bring on a plane. But many travelers come up with elaborate schemes to try to weasle oddities through security. Live animals, weapons, drugs, the things people have been caught traveling with is extensive, but sometimes the circumstances in which security agents discover these things make the story even stranger.
Curious to know some of the oddities reported by airport security personnel? Click through the gallery to be amused.
In March 2025, it was reported that a man from Pennsylvania traveling through an airport in New Jersey had a live turtle with him… in his pants.
You’d think this was a unique case, but it turns out, in 2011, Miami International Airport authorities caught another man attempting to transport snakes and turtles in his pants.
In another odd case of animals hidden in people’s pants, a man traveling from Dubai to Melbourne had placed two live pigeons in his pants. They made it to his destination alive before he was arrested.
In other reptile news, authorities at Tampa International Airport found a boa constrictor in a passenger’s suitcase, nearly bringing a non-fiction version of the 2006 movie ‘Snakes on a Plane’ to life.
It’s not just animals that people try to conceal, but humans, too. An American woman flying from the Philippines had placed a six-day-old baby in her carry-on luggage.
Not inspiring confidence in Manila’s airport security, the baby somehow made it through security in the bag, until the child was discovered during boarding.
In February 2025, Colombian authorities stopped a 40-year-old man traveling through Cartagena International Airport after a scanner detected something unusual.
The traveler was wearing what authorities called a “narco wig.” The man, wearing “a meticulously attached toupee,” had hidden 220 grams (8 oz) of cocaine under the wig.
The passenger was headed to Amsterdam when he was stopped at pre-boarding security. The drugs would have been worth about €10,000 (US$10,828) in Europe. Pictured is a coca leaf.
A passenger traveling from an Iranian airport to Bangkok was caught transporting a furry companion in her suitcase, along with a number of stuffed animals.
Authorities found a three-month-old tiger cub in the passenger’s suitcase. The cub was rescued and given to wildlife authorities.
Flying out of Zurich, a passenger was caught transporting 12 Mexican red-kneed tarantulas. The spiders didn’t survive the flight.
A passenger flying out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was caught carrying a whole raw chicken.
Oddly, the chicken wasn’t the worst part of the ordeal. Inside the chicken, the passenger had concealed a handgun.
In another strange case of things stuffed in food items, a passenger flying out of Honolulu International Airport had a large breadfruit (pictured) in their carry-on.
But it was what was stuffed inside the breadfruit that caught airport security’s eye. The passenger had concealed a large bottle of baby oil inside.
At Nashville International Airport, airport authorities confiscated a pair of “oversized ceremonial scissors” from a passenger.
While checking a passenger’s carry-on during a security check at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, staff noted an unbearable stench coming from the bag.
When the security agent opened the bag, maggots spilled out, requiring an evacuation of the area and a crew to decontaminate the scene.
Hawaii’s Kahului Regional Airport held a historical artifact in its vicinity after a passenger attempted to bring two antiques onto a plane: a cannonball and a flare gun.
In this case, the passenger wasn’t entirely at fault: Her chihuahua had likely jumped inside her suitcase as she was packing.
While going through a scanner at LaGuardia Airport, the dog was discovered nestling inside the suitcase, much to the owner’s surprise. He returned home unharmed.
If traveling through airport security with a grenade wasn’t bad enough, of which there are several documented cases, an airport security agent once discovered something hidden inside the weapon.
The fake grenade had marijuana hidden inside it. The airport security agents were perplexed at the passenger’s attempt to conceal contraband inside more contraband.
A passenger traveling out of an Alaskan airport was caught trying to conceal a knife inside his prosthetic foot.
In another case from Alaska, a passenger was caught traveling with a massive bag of smelly moose feces. Surely, it begs the question as to why, but technically, it isn’t against the rules, so airport authorities didn’t confiscate it.
A man arrived at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport with US$400,000 worth of cocaine concealed in his luggage, but it wasn’t in its powder form.
A whopping 35 pounds (15.88 kilograms) of liquid cocaine had been placed in shampoo bottles inside the man’s checked luggage.
Firearms certainly top the list of items that airport authorities find concealed in other odd items. In 2023 alone, nearly 7,000 firearms were confiscated in US airports. Of the 7,000, more than 90% were loaded.
Sources: (AP News) (Times of India) (USA Today) (Bounce) (Condé Nast) (Business Insider) (ListVerse)
Unusual things people have tried to bring on planes
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There are a great deal of restrictions on what you can and can't bring on a plane, but many travelers come up with elaborate schemes to try to weasel oddities through security. Live animals, weapons, drugs... the list of things people have been caught traveling with is extensive, but sometimes the circumstances in which security agents discover these things make the story even stranger.
Curious to know some of the strangest finds reported by airport security personnel? Click through the gallery to be amused.