A man was caught attempting to sneak ‘human remains’ through security at a Florida airport, justifying his actions by stating they were for an unusual ritual.
The shocking find was made by customs officers at Tampa International Airport in Florida this week when the passenger initially declared only 10 cigars. The man’s luggage contained fragments of what appeared to be a human skull and several bones, along with “prohibited plants,” according to airport authorities.
Photographs taken after the seizure show the bones wrapped in crumpled tinfoil, used to keep them together inside the suitcase. The passenger stated the items were for “rituals.” The news comes as Melania Trump’s bizarre fashion choice at state visit sparks wild body double theories.
CBP did not specify what type of rituals.
It’s unclear if the passenger is facing charges, reports the Mirror US.
Images reveal customs officials donning gloves to sift through the material. Labelled a “serious health risk”, the bones were seized and destroyed.
Carlos C Martel, Director of Field Operations at the US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Miami/Tampa Field Office, posted on social media: “What started as a passenger declaring just 10 cigars at TPA turned bizarre. CBP Agriculture Specialists uncovered prohibited plants, undeclared cigars, and a foil-wrapped duffel bag containing what looked like human remains, including part of a skull. The traveller claimed the items were for rituals, but due to serious health risks, the items were seized and destroyed.
“At CBP, we never know what baggage may hold, but smugglers should know we’ll always have a bone to pick.”
This isn’t the first instance of human remains being discovered unexpectedly at an airport.
In 2020, a mother and daughter were stopped at an airport when customs officers found a man’s remains in their luggage. The pair had placed his bones inside a box in their suitcase, intending to transport him back home to Armenia.
The women, aged 74 and 52, were travelling from Greece to Yerevan with a stopover in Munich when German authorities made the unusual discovery. Customs officials, a doctor, and prosecutors were called, but it was determined that no crime had been committed.
Just last year, an airport worker expressed his shock after finding a deceased woman on a luggage conveyor belt. Virginia Vinton, a 57 year old mother of two, was discovered lifeless at O’Hare airport in Chicago by a Delta Airlines baggage handler.
Speaking to US media, he revealed that he had asked the woman if she wanted him to stop the belt before getting an “eerie feeling” as he loaded bags onto the carousel. He called out to her, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ only to realise the 57 year old wasn’t breathing.
