9 of the strangest things that passengers have tried to smuggle through customs
Next time you hop on a plane, take a good look around you, as despite heightened security, you'd be surprised at the crazy things some people try to sneak on board. From weird objects to dangerous items, passengers are becoming more and more devious when it comes to transporting banned goods!
Here are 9 of the strangest things either found on passengers or hidden away in their baggage.
1. Bags of dead snakes
In 2007, a South Korean was found with a suitcase filled with jars and bottles containing venomous snakes. Security personnel at Atlanta Airport, where the man was stopped, never found out what he intended to do with these slithery creatures.
2. A cannonball
Imagine if your plane was evacuated because someone discovered a cannonball on board! This is exactly what happened after a diver who'd explored a wreck decided to take a cannonball back home as a souvenir. Security staff weren't convinced this was safe and said the cannonball could still contain explosive powder. They immediately evacuated all 300 passengers!
3. iPhone armor
In 2014, metal detectors in a Chinese airport went off when an innocuous passenger tried to pass through security. But rather than concealing a gun, customs officers found 94 iPhones taped to his body. Apparently he was planning to sell them in order to pay for his 'stay' in the region.
4. 200 tarantulas
Customs officers at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam had the fright of their lives when they searched a German couple who'd been in South America. They found 200 baggies containing a rare species of tarantula that they planned on taking home. We just hope that the spiders were confiscated and returned to their tropical paradise.
5. 24 gold bars hidden in a toilet
Imagine how this cleaning lady must have felt when she cleaned an on-board toilet in a plane set to leave Mumbai for Bangkok and stumbled upon $1m worth of gold bars. India is a major gold consumer, so it's no surprise that these bars were being smuggled out in order to be sold on the black market.
6. 51 tropical fish
In 2005, a customs officer in Melbourne noticed a woman whose skirt seemed to be moving on its own! After searching the lady, officers discovered 51 tropical fish hidden away in her skirt!
7. A killer lipstick
Who would have thought that a passenger from Vermont was carrying a killer lipstick? When the police closely examined it, they found it was in fact a 350,000 volt paralyzing pistol!
8. Grenades
No one knows why this man had 4 grenades in his bag, but he was arrested on the spot...
9. A chastity belt
Quite possibly the weirdest discovery was a chastity belt worn by an English woman who set off alarms at Athens Airport. Apparently her husband insisted that she wear it to make sure she didn't cheat on him whilst she was on vacation in Greece. A barbaric, but effective anti-adultery measure that must have left custom officers laughing their heads off!
By Straker Julia
Writer
Passionate about writing, I write articles on the subjects that I love. Creativity and Animals themes are my favorites!
