A Rhode Island man was arrested after he was caught trying to sneak gun parts into peanut butter jars at JFK International Airport in New York City.
The incident occurred on Dec. 22 when his checked baggage set off a metal detector, prompting TSA officers to snoop into his luggage.
The TSA said that firearm parts from a.22 caliber gun, including a loaded magazine, were discovered wrapped in plastic and stuffed inside two peanut butter jars.
“The gun parts were artfully concealed in two smooth creamy jars of peanut butter, but there was certainly nothing smooth about the way the man went about trying to smuggle his gun,” John Essig, TSA’s Federal Security Director for JFK Airport, said in a statement.
Port Authority Police confiscated the gun parts, then tracked the man down and arrested him. The man faces a civil penalty of up to $15,000 from the TSA.
Similarly, a gun was found inside a raw chicken at an airport security checkpoint in Florida right before Thanksgiving. TSA officials said that the firearm was discovered at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and that the passenger was headed to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
“There’s a personal fowl here. The plot chickens as we barrel our way closer to Thanksgiving. For us, it’s a time to be thankful that our officers are always working around the cluck to keep you safe,” the TSA said at the time. “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 year, the TSA has stopped a record amount of guns at airport security checkpoints. More than 6,300 weapons had been seized as of Dec. 16, up from 5,972 in all of 2021.
The largest number of guns TSA officers have had to intercept were: 129 guns at Orlando International Airport, 120 guns at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and 102 guns at Tampa International Airport.
TSA spokesperson Sari Koshetz said that nearly all of the guns discovered at checkpoints were loaded, while most had ammunition chambered.
“An accidental discharge could result in tragedy,” Koshetz said. “Every passenger bares the responsibility of knowing exactly where their gun is before entering the security checkpoint.”
The fine for getting caught with a gun at an airport can reach nearly $14,000, even if the passenger is not arrested. Firearms must be packed in checked luggage, according to the TSA.
