Let’s give credit to the TSA officers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) who cracked the case of the passenger whose carry-on luggage contained a raw chicken with a gun hidden inside.
TSA takes offenses like this seriously. But the agency isn’t above cackling and crowing about finds like this on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
“There’s a personal fowl here…” TSA noted in its Instagram post, adding that “The plot chickens as we barrel our way closer to Thanksgiving.”
The chicken puns didn’t stop there.
Far from it.
TSA said it was thankful its officers “are always working around the cluck to keep you safe” when noting the “hen you believe it?” find at the Fort Lauderdale airport.
“We hate to beak it to you here, but stuffing a firearm in your holiday bird for travel is just a baste of time. This idea wasn’t even half-baked; it was raw, greasy, and obviously unsupervised. The only roast happening there is this poor packing choice.
Feather you like it or not, there are rules for traveling with guns and ammunition. So, don’t wing it; roost over the proper packaging info through the link in our bio.“
Guns in chickens are the least of it
While the gun-in-a-chicken scheme is unusual, TSA officers have a lot of experience spotting guns at Florida airports
Earlier this month the TSA noted that so far this year a record 700 guns had been found at Florida airport checkpoints and nearly every one of these guns was loaded. “Most had ammunition chambered,” TSA said.
Here’s some of the breakdown, as of November 3:
Orlando International Airport (MCO): 129 guns;
Ft. Lauderdale -Hollywood International Airport (FLL): 120 guns:
Tampa International Airport (TPA): 102 guns;
Miami International Airport (MIA): 83 guns;
Jacksonville International Airport (JAX): 58 guns;
Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW): 37 guns;
TSA says in Florida, and in many other states, most passengers found with firearms at the checkpoint are arrested or issued notices to appear in court.
“Passengers face a civil penalty from the TSA that can reach as much as $13,910 and that is imposed regardless of whether the individual is arrested by our law enforcement partners,” TSA reminds travelers. And “If the traveler is in the TSA PreCheck program, those privileges will be lost for a period of time, possibly permanently.”
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year. As of mid-September 2022, more than 4,600 guns had been found. And given the uptick in firearm ‘finds’ the TSA has been reporting around the country, it’s a good bet that the tally will break a record again this year.
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