The Most Expensive (and Strange) Items Ever Confiscated at the Airport

Est. Value of Item: $4,000* (Dell Latitude Laptop Price)
Airport: Unknown

Compared to the other items on this list, this one is pretty terrifying. This image is an inert replica of a laptop bomb. Underneath the keyboard is a plastic baggie containing what looks like cereal (that alone is pretty suspicious, as who transports cereal in a hollow laptop).

Laptop Bomb @TSA/Instagram

It is not, in fact, a breakfast food. These are inert, TNT dynamite flakes. Laptop bombs have gone off before. In 2016, an explosion occurred on a flight from Somalia. The bomb was hidden in a laptop, and, when it exploded, it blew a hole in the fuselage. Luckily, other than the bomber himself, there were no fatalities. At the time, the aircraft was not at cruising altitude because it had been delayed. Had it not been held up, the disaster would have been much worse. 

Est. Value of Item: Priceless
Airport: Erie International Airport

It’s not clear what happened here. Hopefully, this cat owner didn’t attempt to smuggle their cat in their suitcase, as that would be incredibly dangerous. Knowing cats, it’s possible that this furry feline snuck into the suitcase in an attempt to join their owner on his or her travels.

A Cat @TSA/Instagram

At the Erie International Airport, the TSA saw something strange pass through the X-ray machine. Of course, they stopped the belt, opened the suitcase, and found a very disgruntled-looking cat named Slim hiding in there underneath a bunch of clothes. Thankfully, the TSA stopped the cat before Slim had a bumpy ride in the cargo hold. 

Est. Value of Item: $1,000-$2,000*
Airport: Luis Munoz Marin International Airport 

On the TSA website, there is a very detailed, clear-cut list of how you need to declare and store firearms or ammunition in your luggage. You have to follow these rules, lest you risk being held up or, at worst, arrested.

Bicycle Tires Stuffed With Weapons @TSA/Instagram

Clearly, this bike owner was arrested. A traveler at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport stored firearms and ammunition in their bicycle tires. The parts were disassembled to fit, but they didn’t fit perfectly. According to the TSA Instagram, a place where they drag people all the time, the owner didn’t want to go through the hassle of declaring the items and meeting packing requirements. Now, he’ll have to go through the hassle of jail.

Est. Value of Item: $0*
Airport: Juneau International Airport 

This item isn’t illegal, the TSA just had to inspect it anyway to make sure that someone hadn’t hidden something deadly in these nuggets of moose feces. One traveler on their way back from an Alaskan vacation brought back a very large sack of organic material—moose poop, to be exact.

Moose Nuggets @TSA/Instagram

When the item came up as a mass of organic material during scanning, TSA had to check it. They captioned the photo on their Instagram with, “Mondays can really stink.” The moose poop owner in question brought this souvenir back to throw at politicians, he said. Hopefully, he was just kidding. 

Est. Value of Item: $4-$5*
Airport: Washington D.C.

Another TSA Instagram post that was rife with dad jokes was this one, found at an airport in Washington D.C. Every single line of the caption had a milk-related pun. TSA caught someone trying to smuggle a gallon of milk onto an airplane in April of 2022, and they haven’t stopped riffing about it since. 

A Gallon Of Milk @TSA/Instagram

While a gallon of milk doesn’t exactly seem like a cutting-edge weapon, liquid explosives are still a thing that terrorists try now and then. This milk, had it been in a container of 3.4 ounces or less, would have been fine to take on the plane. Though, why would you want to? 

Est. Value of Item: $100-$500*
Airport: Miami International Airport (MIA International Departures)

Someone’s been watching a little too much Mad Max, it seems. One passenger tried to sneak this really strange-looking, bullet-adorned, metallic gas mask through TSA. This post-apocalyptic mask was found in someone’s carry-on, no less, and it’s mind-blowing that someone actually thought TSA would wave that through.

Bullet-Adorned Gas Mask @TSA/Instagram

Gas masks are allowed in your carry-on for the more paranoid of passengers. But, for obvious reasons, you cannot bring replica bullets. TSA joked that this passenger must have been catching a “one-way flight” straight to Fury Road. We wish we knew the real story because this is one of the strangest items on this list. 

Est. Value of Item: $10-$20*
Airport: Seattle Tacoma International Airport 

This is the perfect gift if you hate your spouse and want them to know it. At the Seattle Tacoma International Airport, someone attempted to sneak a knife into their carry-on luggage. They disguised the knife among the stems of a selection of wilting flowers, possibly making some obscure artistic statement.

Knife Hidden In Flowers @TSA/Instagram

Found in July of 2019, TSA immediately caught this bizarre smuggling attempt when they put the flowers through the scanner and the organic material lit up. Knives are not allowed in your carry-on, but you can have them in checked luggage, as long as you follow certain rules and procedures. 

Est. Value of Item: $10-$20*
Airport: Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport 

At an airport in Northern California, TSA agents made an unexpected discovery. A passenger smuggled a knife inside an enchilada in her bag. The eight-and-a-half-inch-long knife was found during security screening. The passenger, who hasn’t been identified, was questioned and, amazingly, cleared to travel.

Knife Hidden In Enchilada @businessinsider/Pinterest.com

Maybe she forgot the knife while slicing her enchilada? When she was questioned by deputies from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, she said she didn’t know how the knife got into her bag. Though she was allowed to fly, she did face a potential fine for the oversight. Considering that jail time was on the table, a fine isn’t too bad a punishment. 

Est. Value of Item: $10-$30*
Airport: Eagle County Airport 

This kitschy item was likely a piece of weird art or home décor. The passenger possibly didn’t even realize that the grenade this tiny, metal monster was holding was actually an inert, real military weapon. TSA agents seized this strange display from a passenger traveling at Colorado’s Eagle County Airport.

Monster With A Hand Grenade @TSA/Instagram

So, how dangerous is an inert grenade? This weapon isn’t dangerous at all, as it doesn’t have working parts or explosives. These types of grenades are often used in training. But, realistic replicas of weapons like this are not permitted in carry-on bags, lest they freak everyone out and cause an uproar mid-flight. 

Est. Value of Item: $5-$10*
Airport: General Mitchell International Airport 

Believe it or not, this type of thing has happened more than once. Lipstick knives are a common self-defense tool. Though they can help you out if you’re about to get mugged in a dark alley, you’ll be in for a world of trouble if you unthinkingly leave it in your luggage while going through airport security.

Lipstick Knife @TSA/Instagram

A twenty-something woman traveling at Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport was stopped when airport security found this “artfully concealed” weapon in her carry-on. The story behind this knife hasn’t really been revealed, and we don’t know if its concealment was accidental or purposeful. Either way, there was no way it was making it on the plane. 

Est. Value of Item: $20-$25*
Airport: Burlington Airport 

The TSA has confiscated knives, guns, and explosives, but those “Big Three” aren’t the only types of weapons that people try to smuggle onto a plane. One Tom & Jerry fan tried to bring a giant wooden mallet, the kind used to bonk people on the head, onto a plane at the Burlington Airport.

A Giant Wooden Mallet @DIYwithUncleCy /YouTube

You can transport small tools, like wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammers, as long as they are seven inches long or fewer. But, those have to be in your checked luggage. Obviously, a gigantic, cartoonish bludgeoning tool is not going to be permitted anywhere on the plane, checked bag or no checked bag.

Est. Value of Item: $15-$30*
Airport: Baltimore/Washington International Airport 

There was a period in the late 1990s and early 2000s when this type of weapon would have been realistic. Now, in an era where everyone has smartphones, this stun gun cell phone is very obviously not what it is pretending to be.

Baltimore Washington Airport has been through a lot. In the summer of 2022, airport police even arrested a woman for attempting to carjack someone. This incident, where someone tried to sneak a taser disguised as a cell phone, seems tame in comparison. More than likely, it was a self-defense tool that someone unwittingly forgot to take out of their carry-on when they got to BWI.

Est. Value of Item: $50-$100*
Airport: Central Nebraska Regional Airport 

White Fang, for those who weren’t forced to read it during their eighth-grade summer, was a novel by Jack London that got turned into a movie several times. The book was about a loyal wolf that goes on the adventure of a lifetime. White Fang showed the chaos of life in 1800s America, as it was set during the Klondike Gold Rush in Yukon Territory.

White Fang Themed Knife @TSA/Instagram

Some mega-fan of the book/movies had a knife designed in the spirit of White Fang. Unfortunately, they didn’t check it in their bag before the flight, so TSA agents at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport had to confiscate it.