Airport security is strict (and only getting stricter), but that doesn’t stop people trying to smuggle weird things into different countries. Below is a collection of ten of the weirdest things that airport security officers have found when on the job.
1. Dead Snakes
At Atlanta International Airport in 2007, a man coming into the United States from South Korea had a suitcase filled with jars and bottles full of dead venomous snakes. It was never revealed what he intended to do with so many dead reptiles.
2. A Cannonball
A diver found an old cannonball while exploring an 18th-century shipwreck, and he decided to take it and check it in with his luggage. Security determined that it was dangerous and possibly an explosive, so they evacuated the building to make sure everyone was safe.
3. Body of iPhones
In China in 2014, airport security noticed something strange when a metal detector was set off. On closer inspection, the man who had set it off had 94 iPhones strapped to his body, and he was intending to sell them on at a much higher price.
4. 200 Tarantulas
At Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the security officers confiscated a bag from a German couple which just so happened to contain 200 rare tarantulas that they were taking home from their trip to South America.
5. $1.2 Million in Gold Bars
This discovery was made during a routine cleaning of an airplane which had traveled from Mumbai to Bangkok. These 24 gold bars were found in the bathroom, but staff were not too surprised as India is the world’s largest gold consumer and gold smuggling is rife.
6. Tropical Fish
At Melbourne International Airport in 2005, a security officer noticed some strange movements underneath a woman’s skirt. He decided to have her frisked, and it turned out that she was trying to smuggle 51 tropical fish.
7. Lipstick Stun Gun
A strange lipstick that was found in a woman’s carry-on bag in Vermont aroused suspicion, so it was taken away to be carefully examined. It turned out that it was actually a 350,000-Volt stun gun.
8. Grenades
A passenger tried to board a flight with four grenades in his bag. Obviously, they were confiscated, and the man was arrested.
9. Chastity Belt
A British woman was stopped by security in Athens when she set off the metal detector. It turned out that she was wearing a chastity belt as a fidelity guarantee for her husband during her vacation.
10. An 8-Year-Old Boy
In Spain in 2015, an 8-year-old Ivorian boy was found in a suitcase that had arrived from Morocco.
