JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports make list of TSA ‘good catches’ in 2020

The TSA says its officers “discover a wide range of strange, weird and dangerous items” each year.

News 12 Staff

Feb 23, 2021, 6:19 PM

Updated 1,382 days ago

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JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports make list of TSA ‘good catches’ in 2020
Five of the nation’s top 10 “good catches” in 2020 by the Transportation Security Administration came from the tri-state area’s three main international airports – Newark, JFK and LaGuardia.
The TSA says its officers “discover a wide range of strange, weird and dangerous items” each year.
Among them were 107 Roman candles detected by a TSA officer at LaGuardia Airport in November.
TSA
Also at LaGuardia, two torch-style lighters were detected by officers along with a “homemade container of 9-inch-long PVC pipe with end caps, which resembled a pipe bomb.” It turned out that the item was a homemade humidor for a traveler’s cigars.
TSA
At Newark Liberty, TSA officers detected a long-barreled gun with “a high-powered magazine and an arsenal of ammunition artfully concealed behind the lining of a suitcase during checked baggage screening.”
TSA
At JFK, the No. 2 “good catch” was found last September. It appeared to be an improvised explosive device. According to the TSA:
“The power component was hazardous because the traveler had tampered with and exposed multiple lithium batteries, which created a possible explosive device. The item was determined to be a solar panel wired to the batteries to power the electronic item.”
TSA
  The TSA listed their top "catch" as the marriage between two K-9 handlers at Newark Liberty. Their two dogs participated in their wedding.  
TSA canines Obelix and Proto participated in the June 2020 wedding of their TSA canine handlers. (TSA)