(NEXSTAR) – A traveler passing through Boston’s Logan Airport was forced to hand over a prohibited item during a security screening — a prohibited item he allegedly didn’t even know he had.
The passenger, a resident of Massachusetts, was passing through a TSA checkpoint at Logan Airport at noon on April 5 ahead of a trip to New York City, according to the TSA. During an x-ray screening of his belongings, an officer with the TSA identified a “possible sword” inside his walking cane.
“When questioned, the passenger … stated that he bought the cane not knowing it had a sword inside,” the TSA wrote in a statement shared with Nexstar.
The Massachusetts State Police responded to the checkpoint area moments later, and the passenger allowed the officers to confiscate the prohibited item.
The man was re-screened and cleared to continue to JFK airport, the TSA confirmed.
A representative for the TSA told Nexstar that such items — i.e., items concealing blades or knives in the handle portion — are “not uncommon” finds at TSA checkpoints. This week, for instance, a hairbrush concealing a dagger was also detected at an airport in Ithaca, New York.
“In [that] instance, as in most other instances, the traveler voluntarily surrendered the item to a TSA officer and was then able to complete screening and catch their flight,” the representative told Nexstar.
The TSA advises that passengers wishing to travel with items knives, blades or other sharp objects pack them safely within their checked baggage.
More information on what travelers can bring in their carry-on bags — and what they can’t — is available at TSA.gov.