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TSA Confiscated Duty free Wine Bottle for Being “Too Dark”

TSA Confiscated Duty free Wine Bottle for Being “Too Dark”

Old Jun 23, 2023, 8:46 am
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TSA Confiscated Duty free Wine Bottle for Being “Too Dark”

From the TSA site on Reddit. New one on me. After 20 years, one would think the TSA had thought of all the ways to confiscate passengers' property.

I had a bottle of red wine in a sealed, duty free bag, complete with receipts and paperwork confiscated at EWR today because the bottle was “too dark”. I purchased the bottle from the airport I was coming from and had it in my carry on. Is this normal protocol? Thanks!
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Old Jun 23, 2023, 9:20 am
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Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much
From the TSA site on Reddit. New one on me. After 20 years, one would think the TSA had thought of all the ways to confiscate passengers' property.
It's a known issue and reputable duty-free shops warn buyers against buying wine in dark glass bottles.

Originally Posted by TWA884
At the register next to mine at the duty-free store, I overhead a supervisor cautioning another customer not to buy the alcohol bottles that he wanted; apparently, those bottles were made of dark colored glass which does not let the scanner analyze the liquid contents. I am not sure, but I think that the supervisor came over after the cashier refused to place those bottles in a tamper-evident bag.
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Old Jun 24, 2023, 8:59 am
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So it would seem the moral is to put the goods into your checked bag. If you do not have a checked bag, get a box and pad it well. I have done the latter regardless of where I have originated.
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Old Jun 24, 2023, 8:23 pm
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Are not the duty free stores airside, after TSA screening?

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Old Jun 24, 2023, 8:38 pm
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Originally Posted by SPN Lifer
Are not the duty free stores airside, after TSA screening?

There's no TSA screening at the foreign airport at which the wine was purchased. But there is TSA screening at the U.S. airport of entry, if one is connecting to another flight.
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Old Jul 14, 2023, 12:37 am
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My guess is that this is due to some new scanning tech that can "see" through transparent and semi-transparent containers (like glass and plastic that isn't too dark). Not sure if TSA has them in wide use yet, but some customs agencies have them at hand. I guess a tale of things to come.

"Raman spectroscopy"

https://www.smithsdetection.com/products/ace-id/
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