Sword found hidden in cane during X-ray scan at Logan airport
A man passing through a Transportation Security Agency (TSA) checkpoint was stopped for having a sword concealed in his cane – and claimed he had no idea the blade was there.
Around noon last Tuesday, TSA officers at Logan airport in Boston were searching the traveler, a Massachusetts resident headed to New York.
When officials used an X-ray machine to examine the man’s belongings, inspectors found a hidden sword in a cane the man was carrying.
“The man claimed he had no idea the blade was in there,” a TSA spokesperson, Dan Velez, tweeted.
After being questioned by Massachusetts state police, the traveler released the cane to authorities and submitted to an additional check. He was cleared and allowed to catch his flight.
According to the TSA, blades concealed in everyday objects are often found during security screenings.
Last Thursday, TSA officials confiscated a blade inside a hairbrush handle from a passenger at the Ithaca Tompkins regional airport in upstate New York, another spokesperson, Lisa Farbstein, tweeted.
“In [that] instance, as in most other instances, the traveler voluntarily surrendered the item to a TSA officer and was then able to complete screening and catch their flight,” a TSA representative told Nexstar, a news outlet.
Under TSA regulations, daggers, swords and other blades are not allowed in carry-on bags but can be stowed in checked baggage.
“Some carry-on items may be prohibited even if they appear not to be, like a cane with a hidden sword,” a TSA guide says, reported by CNN.