Posted on 12/24/2022 8:42:32 AM PST by DFG
Jars of peanut butter stashed in a traveler’s checked luggage at a New York City airport triggered an alarm which resulted in his arrest.
On Thursday, Dec. 22 , TSA officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport opened the checked bag after it set off an alarm when passing through an X-ray, according to a statement from the agency.
They removed two jars of JIF creamy peanut butter from the luggage, each of which contained pieces of a dismantled semi-automatic handgun “artfully concealed inside,” the agency stated.
The parts, including a magazine loaded with .22 caliber bullets, were encased in plastic and shoved into the peanut butter, according to the agency.
When they found the weapon, officials contacted police who confiscated the gun parts and tracked down the man who owned the luggage in an airport terminal, the agency stated. The man, a resident of Rhode Island, was arrested.
“Our officers are good at their jobs and are focused on their mission—especially during the busy holiday travel period,” John Essig, the TSA’s federal security director for JFK Airport, stated.
The man, whose name has not been released, could be slapped with a civil penalty of up to $15,000, according to the TSA.
In order for firearms to be legally transported on a plane, they need to be placed in checked baggage, properly packed and unloaded, and declared at the check-in counter, the agency stated. The person checking the weapon must also have a proper permit.
Earlier this year, officials at an airport in Pennsylvania discovered vape canisters and plastic-wrapped marijuana concealed in a jar of peanut butter after an alarm was triggered, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
The person checking the weapon must also have a proper permit.
************************************************************
Going to/from Alaska from Texas I’ve “checked” guns of all types (including pistols) many times.
I don’t know whether it’s just my good looks or what but they never even ask to look at the guns (which are in locked containers approved by FAA).
And, I’ve NEVER been ASKED for a “permit”.
” properly packed and unloaded, and declared at the check-in counter,”
So the package handlers can steal it easier.
Being delivered to a lonely lesbian with a large dog I am sure.
Feeling peckish?
Hitler : "My dog's got no nose !"
Wehrmacht soldier : "How does it smell ?"
Hitler : "Awful !"
A bit esurient.
I’d like to buy some cheese!
I thought cosmoline was hard to remove…
I carried a calibration instrument through TSA that is used to calibrate the air pressure and the force applied by dynamite drills. The nitrate traces set off the explosives alarm and the big lead-acid gel battery appeared as an opaque rectangle in the X-ray. I most surely was singled out for a closer look. After telling them what it was and how it is used, I just had to show them the screen light up and display a working menu. They declined my offer to open the front panel.
As I understand it, the guy was breaking the law simply by having possession of a handgun in New York, in his luggage or anywhere else without a NY handgun permit. There have been stories of passengers whose flights unexpectedly landed in NY being arrested when they picked up their luggage.
Had he flown from RI with a legally checked firearm, he could have changed planes in NY and been OK—as long as he didn’t have possession of the luggage. The fact that he hid the .22 in the peanut butter jars tells me he knew he was breaking the law and that he didn’t know that x-rays can see through peanut butter.
Could be slapped with a civil penalty of up to $15,000 or get a job with the feds he’d be a good set up guy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.