N830MH

They were supposed to find a gun, drugs, explosives, and a few other items, as well. They didn't stop for search by those passengers. That's big problems! Those TSA screener should be fired or suspension from work. They breaking the rules and they didn't listen from TSA supervisor or manager.

Yeah! That's real problems! They didn't stop for search any illegal drugs, explosives, gun and a few other items, as well.

FliesWay2Much

We're discussing this topic not thinking about the possibility that the drug bags never came close to a TSA screening station or were never touched by a TSA clerk on the way to the plane.

Boggie Dog

Tossed over the fence or carried in through the very lax TSA security for airport employees?

petaluma1

The report I heard was that many of the bags were carryons that went through TSA checkpoints.

WillCAD

Nope, I gotta go against TSA on this one.

Forget the hidden compartments. That's the whole reason why bags are screened by x-ryy - to see INSIDE hidden compartments. Plastic bags containing masses of powder? Those should have shown up on the x-ray as solid masses and triggered hand inspection, which should have revealed the plastic bags full of powder. Which in turn should have been reported to the police as apparent illegal drugs. How much does a brick of coke look like a brick of C4 on the x-ray? As opposed to a granola bar or a book? This was definitely a TSA fail.

On the other hand, TSOs interrogating someone who has a daily pill organizer or a Ziploc bag of OTC meds in their carry-on, demanding to see prescriptions or to know what each of those pills are, is a violation of TSA's "we don't search for drugs" policy.

I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who try to carry bags of coke or stashes of weed in their carry-on luggage. They know that stuff is illegal, and they know their bags are going to be screened and/or searched, yet they pack it anyway? They deserve to be busted, for stupidity alone. But people who carry legal meds, whether OTC or prescribed by a doctor, shouldn't be hassled. I know this thread doesn't deal with that topic, but it's tangential - TSOs are not supposed to search for drugs (which means no invasive questioning about personal quantities of meds), but they are supposed to trigger a hand search when the s-ray shows large, dense masses, and if they see that the mass is a couple of kilos of powder, that's enough for them to call the cops, IMHO.

By the way, we in TS&S don't all cite Notorious Airline Employees as the primary luggage thieves. We generally cite dishonest TSOs as the primary luggage thieves.

JoeBas

Do me a favor - the next time you see a story about a TSA Agent finding a brick of coke in a false bottom in their luggage, decides its not a danger to the aircraft, and sends the passenger on their way, please cite that here. TIA.

FliesWay2Much

SPOTNik Minetta Walker

And these "officers":

Bribing is easy... For the life of me, I can't imagine this current operation taking place with out the "cooperation" of TSA "officers."

Boggie Dog

If the drugs where going through a TSA checkpoint I can't imagine there not being some cooperation in play. If the drugs were coming in by employee, across the fence, or something like that then other baggage handlers would have involved.

I would be willing to bet an ice cold Coca-Cola that this wasn't the work of a person buying a ticket and just traveling like everyone else.

N830MH

Yeah, unfortunately, they should be fired from TSA & LEO. They didn't stop for search by those passengers. They didn't detained him. No one ever caught the criminals. No one ever bring drugs into airport security. They could be sneaking into the commercial aircraft.

t325

I know absolutely about smuggling drugs, selling drugs, buying drugs or taking drugs, but it seems like creating suitcases with false bottoms is more work (and perhaps more risky) than necessary. You could just fill up a plastic container of baby powder with cocaine and I doubt the TSA would be able to tell the difference, in fact, I bet it wouldn't even raise any eyebrows when going through the x-ray.

WillCAD

Maybe, but it seems to be a pretty inefficient way of smuggling powdery drugs. Any more than two bottles, and you'd arouse suspicion - it is, after all, still a white powder - but I doubt you could transport more than half a kilo of the substance in a single bottle.

Honestly, smuggling drugs by air to any destination you could possibly drive to is horrendously stupid. Smuggling to an island destination or internationally might possibly be worth the risk - and the expense of the plan ticket - but anything inside a large country like the US, which doesn't have internal travel restrictions, is best smuggled by passenger vehicle.