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NEWARK, N.J. — TSA workers thought they had seen it all, then this happened. A man from Pennsylvania, was caught trying to smuggle a live turtle in his pants through airport security.
The animal was wrapped in a blue towel, under the man’s clothing.
A Pennsylvania man attempting to go through airport security was discovered to have been hiding a living turtle in his pants, authorities said.
TSA conducted a pat-down Friday at Newark Liberty International Airport after a body scan alarm was triggered “in the area of the man’s groin,” according to a statement from the Transportation Security Administration on Tuesday.
“When asked if there was something hidden in his pants, the man, a resident of East Stroudsburg, Pa., reached down the front of his pants and pulled out a live turtle,” TSA officials said regarding the incident.
The turtle was estimated to be approximately five inches in length and identified to be a red-ear slider turtle – one of the most popular breeds of pet turtle in the United States – by the man once he was caught by airport security.
Officers confiscated the turtle, which did not appear to be harmed.
Port Authority police escorted the man from the checkpoint area and he missed his flight.
It is unclear if the man kept the turtle as a pet, or why it was in his pants.
Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, said that this is the first time he has ever seen someone trying to smuggle a live animal down the front of their pants as they attempted to go through security.
“I commend our officer who conducted the pat-down in a very professional manner in an effort to resolve the alarm,” said Carter. “We have seen travelers try to conceal knives and other weapons on their person, in their shoes and in their luggage, however I believe this is the first time we have come across someone who was concealing a live animal down the front of his pants. As best as we could tell, the turtle was not harmed by the man’s actions.”
It was just over two years ago that this TSA post went viral, showing an X-ray image of a cat inside a bag at Norfolk International Airport in Virginia.
Fortunately, the feline survived the ordeal as well, and the pet owner got a scolding.
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