A traveler passing through customs at a Florida airport was caught with suspected human bones wrapped in tinfoil that they claimed to use for “rituals.”
The passenger with the macabre merchandise declared a small collection at Tampa International Airport’s station for Customs and Border Patrol, which everyone is required to pass through when reentering the United States.
Still, authorities dug through his belongings and discovered a literal skeleton in his luggage.
The cigars, as the traveler stated, were among the bizarre findings. Part of what appeared to be a human skull and several bones was packed alongside “prohibited plants,” Carlos Martel, the airport’s director of field operations, said.
CBP determined that the remains posed “serious health risks” and were destroyed, much to the passenger’s chagrin.
“At @CBP, we never know what baggage may hold, but smugglers should know we’ll always have a bone to pick,” Martel wrote on X.
Authorities launched an investigation into the oddball find and are probing whether or not the remains were bona fide.
The Tampa airport, like many others located in the Sunshine State, is no stranger to jarring discoveries.
In 2023, one passenger tried to smuggle their 4-foot “emotional support” boa constrictor named Bartholomew through security.
In the first four months of 2024, more than 1,500 firearms were confiscated by TSA at airports nationwide — with the Tampa International making the top 10 alongside two other major Florida travel hubs.
Even so, Tampa International seems to be turning a corner as it tied for third-best “large” airport based on passenger satisfaction in September.
Other disturbing incidents at airports range from faux bomb threats made by disgruntled passengers to even discovering corpses in unassuming places like baggage claim.
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