TSA Is Begging Travelers: Please Stop Smuggling Animals in Your Underwear at Airport Security
Oh, Florida.
In a story that feels more like the start of a stand-up set than a legitimate news report, TSA just had to remind travelers, again, to please stop hiding animals in bizarre places before going through airport security. Yes, this is real life.
A woman at Miami International Airport was recently caught trying to sneak two live turtles… in her bra. One of them was wrapped in plastic. The other? Medical tape. (I wish I were joking.)
Unsurprisingly, TSA’s advanced imaging technology picked up on the “anomaly,” and after a quick inspection, officers found the smuggled reptiles. One turtle didn’t survive the ordeal. The other was handed over to Florida Fish and Wildlife. TSA posted their exasperated (and slightly hilarious) plea on social media, urging people to “travel with pets—safely—and not hidden underneath your clothing.”
And that is not all.
Earlier this year, another passenger at Newark Liberty Airport attempted to smuggle a live turtle through security… in his pants.
The body scanner flagged something in the man’s groin area, prompting a pat-down. When asked what he had hidden, the man pulled out a five-inch red-eared slider turtle wrapped in a small blue towel. According to TSA, the man said it was his pet.
He was immediately escorted out of the checkpoint by Port Authority police and missed his flight. It’s unclear if he’ll face any legal consequences, but the turtle was confiscated and, thankfully, appeared to be unharmed.
As Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, put it: “We’ve seen travelers try to conceal knives and other weapons; however, I believe this is the first time we have come across someone who was concealing a live animal down the front of his pants.”
I mean… what more is there to say?
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