10 Bizarre Things People Have Tried To Smuggle Past Airport Security

Crime | News | Trending

10 Bizarre Things People Have Tried To Smuggle Past Airport Security

If you've flown recently you know how stressful it can be to pass through airport security. But just imagine if you had one of these strange items hiding in your bag:

1. Cobras

A man from California is facing 20 years in prison for his slippery scheme to sneak snakes into California. The man had stuffed the reptiles inside potato chip cans, and police found more illegal reptiles at his home. He was also smuggling albino turtles in the cans, so you could call this a "bulk pack" with different varieties mixed together.

2. A cast made of cocaine

Drug smugglers try and beat airport security every day, but a 66-year-old man from Chile came closer than most by disguising his actually injured leg with a kilo of molded drugs. What gave him away? His suitcase also contained cocaine. Don't push your luck pal!

3. Ancient artifacts

In one of this year's strangest news stories, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that the owners of the craft store chain Hobby Lobby had been shipping stolen relics back to America, including ancient clay tablets labeled as "tile samples." The company was fined $3 million for buying the pilfered pottery. Oops!

4. Tropical fish

We know what you want to ask: there's barely any legroom on a plane, so where would you fit an aquarium? A woman traveling to Australia actually stashed 51 bagged tropical fish into a special apron under her skirt. Security officers realized she was hiding something when they heard "strange noises" coming from her waist.

Reuters

5. Crocodile

Forget tried, a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo actually managed to sneak a crocodile onto his plane, where it got out of its bag and caused a panic. The plane actually crashed, killing 21 people on board but not the crocodile.

Find out how a man smuggled himself past airport security on the next page!

6. A tiger cub

A daring smuggler from Thailand came up with what was probably the stupidest way to disguise a live tiger cub that we can imagine. The baby animal was sedated and put inside a suitcase alongside a stuffed tiger cub. Hmm,, I wonder how they could tell the difference! Do you think the teeth gave it away?

7. A body

Police stopped a pair of women at Liverpool, England's John Lennon airport after they tried to push a 91-year-old man's body onto the plane in a wheelchair. They put sunglasses on and claimed he was "sleeping," but the man had passed away. While they were arrested, police had to let the women - the man's wife and step-daughter - go free because they couldn't prove any foul play.

You can tell somebody has watched Weekend At Bernie's too many times.The Racing Diaries

8. 75 snakes and other reptiles

A huge bust in Sweden captured a woman planning to start her own reptile farm after security agents noticed she kept scratching her chest. It turned out she had 6 lizards under her shirt and 75 snakes stuffed in her bra. And I thought traveling with kids was stressful!

9. A secret identity

It sounds like something out of a spy movie, but it really happened: a man left Hong Kong as an elderly white man, but midway through his flight he went to the bathroom and returned as a young Chinese man. He pulled it off with a silicone movie mask and help from airport staff, who were arrested on smuggling charges.

10. Monkeys

Probably the most famous case of bizarre smuggling of all time, a man was stopped at a Los Angeles airport in 2002 with rare orchids and a bird of paradise in his suitcase. When asked if he had anything else to declare he answered "Yes, I've got monkeys in my pants." The pair of pygmy monkeys were taken to a local zoo, while the man was taken to jail.

Share this strange list with someone you know!

I write about all sorts of things for Shared, especially weird facts, celebrity news, and viral stories.