new york –
It was a stuffed diaper, but not what you’d think.
A security guard at New York’s LaGuardia Airport found 17 bullets hidden inside an infant’s disposable diaper on Wednesday, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
According to the TSA, officers removed a clean diaper from a passenger’s carry-on bag after an X-ray machine alarm at the airport security checkpoint went off.
According to the agency, the passenger initially claimed he did not know how the bullet-filled diaper ended up in his bag. He then suggested his girlfriend put it there, his agency said.
TSA identified the passenger as a man from Arkansas who was issued a ticket to Chicago’s Midway Airport, but did not release his name. Port Authority police charged the suspect with illegal possession of a 9mm bullet.
Messages were left seeking more information with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, and the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
The diaper disguiser is the latest LaGuardia passenger to be reported carrying a bullet and sometimes with a fever.This is a problem happening at airports across America.
Last month, TSA agents found a .45 caliber pistol and a six-round magazine hidden inside a Nike sneaker in checked baggage at LaGuardia Airport. Firearms are permitted to be transported in checked baggage, but shoes are not allowed and must be transported in a locked, hard-sided container.
In January 2021, a police officer at a security checkpoint intercepted 13 bullets hidden in a Mentos chewing gum container in his carry-on baggage. The bullet was laced with chewing gum pieces, TSA said. The passenger, who was charged with illegal possession of ammunition, claimed the bag belonged to his son, the agency said.
In April, officers removed a loaded .22 caliber pistol and two boxes of ammunition (more than 100 rounds total) from his carry-on luggage. According to TSA, the passenger claimed to have been at the shooting range but forgot to remove the gun and bullets before heading to the airport. He was still under arrest.
