Woman Tried to Smuggle Live Turtles Through Airport Security in Her Bra

TSA agents in Florida caught a woman with turtles she was smuggling in her bra. It’s not the first time someone has tried to get animals through security.

TSA agents at Miami International Airport were surprised when they discovered two live turtles tucked inside a passenger’s bra during security screening. The bizarre smuggling attempt quickly made headlines and sparked questions about how often people try to sneak wildlife through airport checkpoints. We dive into this shell-shocking story, explore the weird world of animal smuggling at airports, and look at what penalties await travelers who think their undergarments make good hiding spots for reptiles.

At least she picked two

This story sounds like the beginning of a very bad joke, but the reality is that a woman tried to take two turtles through the Miami airport security checkpoint, creating a bizarre incident. As you would expect, airport security caught onto what she was doing, chalking up another of the wildlife violations that happen too often. This might be one of the most brazen exotic animal smuggling methods ever tried, and it’s kind of a stupid idea considering you must go through a body scan on the way to the gate at every airport.

Were they pets or income?

As it turns out, the TSA turtle smuggling in the bra incident didn’t have a good result for one of the animals. One of the turtles did not survive the incident, while the other was turned over to the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife. Wildlife smuggling is against TSA rules, which should be pretty obvious, but sadly, this woman took a risk with the lives of these turtles by turning them into airport animal contraband in her bra. It’s too bad she didn’t know or ask about the rules regarding small pets before going to the airport.

Small animals are allowed

The rules regarding some pets have been relaxed in recent years, and TSA allows travelers to go through the checkpoint with small pets, but those pets must be removed from the carriers and carried through the checkpoint. You might argue that the woman was technically carrying the turtles through the checkpoint, but the way she did it seemed more like turtle trafficking instead of caring for pets. Had she pulled them out of her bra to carry them, that would have technically adhered to the rules, but it’s pretty easy to figure out that TSA officials would have wanted her to have an approved carrier, not her bra, for the turtles to survive the flight on a plane.

Another day at the office

It might seem extremely strange to most people for the TSA agents at an airport to find a woman involved in turtle smuggling using her bra, but that could be just another day at the office for many agents. Among some of the most bizarre TSA discoveries are soiled money stuffed in a set of crutches, a cattle prod, a gun hidden in a playstation, hair scrunchies stuffed with drugs, and a knife hidden in a laptop. These are just a few of the TSA checkpoint’s unusual finds that have caused the agents to stop people and figure out what’s going on. You might think that people wouldn’t continue to try to hide contraband, but it happens every day.

This wasn’t the only turtle incident this year

The two turtles found by TSA to be involved in turtle smuggling in a bra sounds unusual, and the fact that they were small sea turtles certainly makes things even stranger, but it’s not the only incident of its kind this year. Earlier in the year, TSA agents in New Jersey found a man who was taking a live red-ear slider turtle onto a flight while stuffed in the crotch area of his pants. It seems that people are putting turtles into very intimate locations, expecting them to be hidden from the body scans, but the scanners are pretty well advanced and able to pick up the animals.

The lesson of this story is two-fold. First, follow the TSA rules and understand what they are, even as they apply to small pets. Second, don’t try to smuggle turtles in your bra, or anywhere else. For that reason, if the word smuggle can be used to describe what you’re doing, maybe you shouldn’t do it in the first place.

What are some of the strangest TSA stories you’ve ever heard or read?