TSA Agents Recover Handgun From Inside Raw Chicken at Florida Airport

TSA agents at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport recovered a handgun stashed inside a raw chicken, The Washington Post reports.

The South Florida Transportation Security Administration agents discovered the raw chicken after a bag was pulled off the line. When the food item was more closely inspected, the agents discovered that a passenger had attempted to smuggle a firearm inside the chicken. It is unclear if the passenger was arrested.

"We hate to beak it to you here, but stuffing a firearm in your holiday bird for travel is just a baste of time. This idea wasn’t even half-baked; it was raw, greasy, and obviously unsupervised," read a pun-filled post from the TSA, detailing the incident alongside photos of the chicken, as seen below. "The only roast happening here is this poor packing choice! Feather you like it or not, there are rules for traveling with guns and ammunition."

According to TSA spokesperson R. Carter Langston, the incident happened on Sept 27 at the Florida airport’s checked baggage scanning facility in Terminal 4. Customs and Border Protection also responded to the find, because it involved an international passenger. The gun was unloaded, but travel restrictions dictate that unloaded firearms are only permitted in checked baggage if they’re contained in a locked, hard-sided case and declared ahead of traveling.

“Be sure you know what the gun laws are on each side of your trip or you may be heading to jail instead of to your family gathering,” added TSA spokesperson Sari Koshetz, per a news release. “Guns may not be legal to transport even in checked baggage in some jurisdictions.”

Per the TSA, Florida’s Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Tampa airports frequently top the list of most guns discovered by agents. This year alone, passengers have brought 700 guns to airport security in Florida, with many of them loaded. In 2021, the agency seized 5,972 firearms nationwide.