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Old Jul 20, 2011, 12:36 pm
  #1  
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Bahamas Security 1, TSA 0: Ammunition in Carry On

Breach # 25,001? http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/...in-fanny-pack/

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man is home after spending four days in a jail in the Bahamas because airport security found a bullet in his fanny pack.

Forty-eight-year-old Darrell Lapp returned Tuesday to Liberty after a scuba diving trip with a Boy Scout troop.

His ordeal began last Friday when airport security in Freeport, Bahamas found a .32-caliber bullet inside his fanny pack. He was charged with possessing ammunition and sent to a jail in Nassau. Lapp says he thinks he left the bullet in his pack after a hunting trip.

His wife found a lawyer, who was able to get the criminal charge dismissed. Lapp was released from jail Monday night.

It’s unclear how the bullet was not detected by security at Kansas City International Airport and in Nassau.
"Not a threat because no gun was present" press release in 5, 4, 3, ...
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Old Jul 20, 2011, 12:41 pm
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It's a little unclear to me how a single bullet is a threat. Security at KC did the right thing, whether it noticed the bullet or not. Isn't KC one of the airports with outsourced security, or am I having a memory fail?

Mike
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Old Jul 20, 2011, 1:12 pm
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The right thing would have been to find it, have the passenger surrender it or remove it from the airport, and let him continue on his journey. It is a prohibited item after all. He could have easily fashioned a gun out of the handle of his roller bag, a metal coat hanger and a bobby pin.

The TSA thing to do (if they had found it) would be to go into Code Bravo, get the police to arrest the passenger for carrying a dangerous item, and shout to the press what a great job they are doing in protecting us from deadly weapons. +1 on the "artfully concealed dangerous item" count for the week.

The TSA will (since they missed it) claim it is not dangerous and nobody was in any danger and the other 20 layers worked blah blah blah.
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Old Jul 20, 2011, 1:26 pm
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I know it's a foreign country, but 4 days in jail seems excessive. They should have just confiscated it and let him go home. Maybe they were hinting that he should "pay a fine" and he would be let go. I've never been to the Bahamas so I don't know if that's how things work there.

While the bullet is likely not a threat, I'm sure the TSA would have counted it as an artfully concealed item. Since they didn't find it, it will considered to be the same non-threat as the knives and such that make it on to the planes.
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Old Jul 20, 2011, 1:51 pm
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Just another missed "Good Catch"
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Old Jul 20, 2011, 2:13 pm
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Originally Posted by mikeef
It's a little unclear to me how a single bullet is a threat. Security at KC did the right thing, whether it noticed the bullet or not. Isn't KC one of the airports with outsourced security, or am I having a memory fail?

Mike
Ummm, it was found while at the Freeport Airport in the Bahamas. The TSA at KC missed it on his outbound travel as did Nassau on I am assuming an internal flight.


BTW ... It could have been TSA in Freeport who found the bullet as TSA as well customs operate at foreign airports to preclear people. Though I am not sure if is the case for this incident.
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Old Jul 20, 2011, 4:36 pm
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Originally Posted by spd476
I've never been to the Bahamas so I don't know if that's how things work there.
Pretty much as reported
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Old Jul 20, 2011, 7:06 pm
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Originally Posted by FlyingUnderTheRadar
Ummm, it was found while at the Freeport Airport in the Bahamas. The TSA at KC missed it on his outbound travel as did Nassau on I am assuming an internal flight.


BTW ... It could have been TSA in Freeport who found the bullet as TSA as well customs operate at foreign airports to preclear people. Though I am not sure if is the case for this incident.
InterIsland flying in the Bahamas has zero security. Not even a metal detector. I have flown Nassau - Exuma, Treasure Key, Eluthera. That was last year.

It's quite nice.
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Old Jul 21, 2011, 3:03 pm
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Originally Posted by FlyingUnderTheRadar
Ummm, it was found while at the Freeport Airport in the Bahamas. The TSA at KC missed it on his outbound travel as did Nassau on I am assuming an internal flight.


BTW ... It could have been TSA in Freeport who found the bullet as TSA as well customs operate at foreign airports to preclear people. Though I am not sure if is the case for this incident.
Exactly. My point is that a single bullet with no gun is no danger to anyone. If security at KC saw it, they did the right thing by not bothering him. If they missed it, that doesn't really bother me, either.

Mike
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Old Jul 21, 2011, 6:47 pm
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Originally Posted by spd476
I know it's a foreign country, but 4 days in jail seems excessive. They should have just confiscated it and let him go home. Maybe they were hinting that he should "pay a fine" and he would be let go. I've never been to the Bahamas so I don't know if that's how things work there.

While the bullet is likely not a threat, I'm sure the TSA would have counted it as an artfully concealed item. Since they didn't find it, it will considered to be the same non-threat as the knives and such that make it on to the planes.
Bolding mine: It's their laws and with that, end of story. Sorry to sound harsh but it's really that simple (and no different than a non-U.S. citizen getting caught with "something" by the TSA at a U.S. airport as they are at the mercy of U.S. laws)
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Old Jul 22, 2011, 12:06 am
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Originally Posted by boatseller
Just another missed "Good Catch"
Yes, that was big mistake!! He should have placed them into the checked bags and not go through at security. The weapons is prohibited. He can't allowed to carry the bullet inside the carryon bags but, he forgotting to leave the bullet inside the bags.

Obviously, he is very lucky that he didn't spent in the prisons but, they just dropped all his charges against him.
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Old Sep 23, 2015, 10:19 am
  #12  
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TSA misses bullets

https://caymannewsservice.com/2015/0...o-us-airports/

....Cayman’s custom bosses and the local magistrates are raising their concerns that too many visitors are making it through US airports and arriving in Cayman with ammunition in their bags....
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Old Sep 24, 2015, 9:30 am
  #13  
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No surprise to most people here.
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Old Sep 25, 2015, 9:29 am
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Okay, I clicked on the article and the headline reads:

Bullet passes through two US airports

My first thought was, "Damn, that's one hell of a shot! Must have been at least a .50 caliber!"

I love this quote, too:
On a previous occasion when a visitor passed through Cayman with ammunition and ended up in Summary Court, Magistrate Valdis Foldats summed up the concern regarding the casual approach to lethal weapons, saying, “It boggles the mind that people have ammunition in backpacks and don’t even know it.”
Duh, a bullet is not a lethal weapon, it's just one component. And while I am merciless in my assessment of the stupidity of forgetting, at any time, anywhere, where your firearm might be, I am unconcerned with the average hunter or sport shooter who doesn't realize that he has a few loose rounds in the bottom of his bag.

Still, when I travel I do tend to search my entire bag before I pack it, particularly the carry-on, just on the off chance that I have forgotten about a prohibited item like a dinner fork or one of the many sharps I own (from Xactos up to kitchen knives). My worst faux pas in that regard was once forgetting to empty my Brita sports bottle before getting into the queue, and being forced to down 3/4 of a bottle or get out of line to empty it and start over.
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Old Sep 25, 2015, 1:51 pm
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http://www.southdadenewsleader.com/n...03949347b.html

Why do I get a vision of these passengers goose-stepping through the airport?
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