NEED TO KNOW
- TSA is making a “desperate plea” for passengers to stop smuggling animals through airport security
- The agency recently shared photos on X of two turtles confiscated at Miami International Airport
- While uncommon, a Pennsylvania man was caught with a turtle in his pants at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey earlier this year
TSA agents were stunned after catching a woman trying to smuggle two creatures onto her flight.
On July 22, the Transportation Security Administration shared photos on X taken at an airport’s security checkpoint. The pictures show two living turtles in a bin.
“We’re back with another desperate plea to stop hiding animals in weird places on your body before airport security,” the account posted.
“According to the report… ‘passenger divested two turtles from her breast area,’ ” they added.
In the first photo, one of the turtles is wrapped in some sort of medical tape. Meanwhile, the other reptile appears covered in plastic wrap. In the second photo, the animals are freed of their restraints — one of the pets is crawling about the bin while the other stays in its shell.
A spokesperson for TSA tells PEOPLE the incident happened in April at Miami International Airport. After Advanced Imaging Technology alerted agents to the woman’s chest, “the passenger removed two live turtles from the alarming area.”
According to its statement, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to the incident.
“Well, that could have ended poorly. Yikes,” wrote one X user in the replies.
Another questioned: “What evil could those cuties do?”
Although rare, this is not the first time the TSA has caught someone trying to sneak a turtle through airport security.
On March 7, a TSA body scanner at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey went off after a Pennsylvania man walked through.
“A TSA officer administered a pat-down of the area of the man’s body where the alarm was triggered and in doing so, determined that there was something concealed in the area of the man’s groin,” a March 11 press release detailed.
The agency added: “When asked if there was something hidden in his pants, the man, a resident of East Stroudsburg, Pa., reached down the front of his pants and pulled out a live turtle that was wrapped in a small blue towel.”
After finding the roughly five-inch turtle, officials took possession of the reptile and indicated they would contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local animal control.
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“I commend our officer who conducted the pat-down in a very professional manner in an effort to resolve the alarm,” Thomas Carter, TSA’s federal security director for New Jersey, said in the press release. “We have seen travelers try to conceal knives and other weapons on their person, in their shoes and in their luggage, 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.”
He added: “As best as we could tell, the turtle was not harmed by the man’s actions.”
According to the agency, the man missed his flight and was escorted out of the checkpoint by police.
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