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Texas Airport Makes TSA's 2021 List Of Most Unusual Confiscated Items At Security Checkpoints

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has released its annual list of some of the oddest items confiscated at airport checkpoints in 2021.

Some people have tried to get more than full-sized bottles of water or toothpaste onto planes. The top confiscated item was a chainsaw confiscated at the New Orleans International Airport, but an item at a location in Texas made the top 10.

The list includes a wide array of items seized, ranging from a chain saw at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, to a 'burrito' stuffed with methamphetamine that was found by security at Houston Hobby Airport in April.

meth burrito
(credit: Transportation Security Administration)

"Because they [TSA] suspected there was an illegal substance concealed in the food, they notified the Houston Police Department (HOD), which responded to the security checkpoint. HPD determined that the lump was crystal meth," the agency said.

According to the TSA, the 2021 holiday season had more than 110 million Americans to airports across the country.

In addition to the top 10 strangest items, TSA agents also confiscated more than 5,600 firearms at checkpoints in 2021, the highest number ever recorded in a single year. And at least 85% of the confiscated firearms were loaded with ammunition.

Check out the full list of what the agency calls its top confiscated items of 2021:

  • Chainsaw - New Orleans International Airport
  • Gun-themed wine holder - Sacramento International Airport
  • Fireworks - Syracuse Hancock International Airport (New York)
  • Machete - Reagan National Airport (Washington, D.C.)
  • Bear spray - Destin/Fort Walton Beach Airport (Florida)
  • Cleaver - Harrisburg International Airport (Pennsylvania)
  • Firearm buckle - Honolulu International Airport
  • Meth burrito - Hobby International Airport (Texas)
  • Pistol - Newark International Airport
  • Bullets in deodorant - Atlantic City International Airport (New Jersey)
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