Alaska State Troopers Press Release of Monday, August 16, 2010

So how did he make it safely into the sterile area?

Maybe they had stuffed noses.

Because the TSA isn't looking for drugs? You can't bring a plane down with drugs?

Had the TSA made a stop on this, the members of this board would have had the following response:

Looks like they made the big catch
TSA has no business looking for drugs. They should have let the passenger go.

Why shouldn't he have made it into the sterile area? Was he carrying explosives? A gun? TSA's job is to find weapons and/or explosive devices which pose a threat to airline safety - not to search for illegal drugs. TSA shouldn't have prevented this passenger from boarding - and they didn't. That's a job well done! ^

You may be right, but you also forgot to include that TSA itself set the standard by bragging about finding these idiots.

And that is excactly my point. ^

See the thread about the passenger with the fake ID's.....

don't you mean the tsa isn't supposed to be looking for drugs and other forms of contraband like large amounts of cash and multiple passports

Some people are never happy... either you want them to be looking for the drugs or you don't. Whining about the fact that they look for them because it is "illegal", and then whining about when they don't demonstrates strong narcissistic behaviour...

Name one person who is whining?

The OP would be one prime example. Others will be along shortly

Where is the whine?

a cab sav or shiraz???

I'm a bit confused here, what exactly is the problem?

The TSA conducts an administrative search and the search they carry out is for WEI (weapons, explosives, incendiaries); apparently the passenger did not have any WEI on him and was thus admitted to the sterile area in Seattle or other origin airport.

TSA screeners ARE NOT law enforcement and they never should be law enforcement. Their only duty is to look for weapons - they're not, and should never be a "dragnet" for law enforcement either.

Per the report above, it appears an Alaska State Trooper smelled something and acted on it as a LEO in Alaska.

When it comes to the TSA, anything further than an administrative search = 4th Amendment Violation.

I wouldn't stereotype everyone in this forum. In fact, I'd say many of the regular readers / posters in this forum will take a stance similar to mine.

As I'm sure you're aware, the TSA is limited to conducting an administrative search for WEI.

The pax referenced in the police report by the OP apparently was not carrying anything dangerous to an aircraft (weapons, explosives, etc) and thus was cleared to the sterile area of the terminal.

I don't see where there is a problem. It isn't the job of the TSA to look for drugs or other contraband, and it never should be.

At least this passenger was only going to Ketchikan and not, say, Kuala Lumpur.

Cheers!

Since when did the Alaska State Troopers get taken over by the TSA. I read 2-3 newspapers a day, so I must have missed that headline. Either that or the OP made a post whining about the TSA when the actions were actually taken by a state trooper.

Let's see, because a metal detector doesn't pick up on marijuana. You could easily make it through security with a small amount of pretty much any drug. Did you think that the metal detector would pick up on things like that?

call it whining if you want to but the issue is whether rather simple. is the tsa is supposed to be looking for items that are not a threat to aviation security? it's really cut and dry and imho, illegal drugs are not a threat to aviation security. yes, the drugs in question are illegal but that's not the tsa's job-but rather to ensure that liquids, gels and aerosols greater than 3.4 ounces (unless medically allowed) are placed in checked luggage or surrendered at the checkpoint and items listed on the permitted and prohibited items list are either allowed thru the checkpoint or they are not.