Skulls in saucepans, pigeons down trousers and a pet chicken: The strangest things passengers have tried to sneak through airport security revealed
- One source tells of moment man put chicken through an X-Ray scanner
- Children's toys are now often seen as 'security' problems by officials
- Indonesian officials found skulls from a Borneo tribe in a package
Despite the stringent security checks at airports, passengers still try and sneak through the most outlandish of objects.
From
animals to replica weapons, security officials have to be on their
guard for the strange, out of the ordinary and occasionally disturbing
items passengers try and take on a plane.
Here MailOnline Travel takes a look at some of the more bizarre items that have been seized at security.
Six human skulls were discovered in one person's luggage at an Indonesian airport
Human skulls in saucepans
Indonesian
customs officers uncovered a grisly smuggling attempt bound for
Australia - a group of human skulls hidden inside saucepans.
The
six skulls were intercepted in two separate cases at Indonesian
airports and are suspected of being part of a prized collection for
international buyers or for research use.
It is believed the skulls were being shipped for a luxury buyer, or for research purposes
Creepy: The skulls were intercepted en-route to Australia and Amsterdam
In
February and March this year the skulls, which are believed to be from
the Dayak tribe of Borneo, were hidden inside saucepans and sent from
post offices in Indonesia, bound for Australia and Amsterdam.
The
skulls were discovered when customs officials became suspicious after
scanning the package containing four skulls, and decided to inspect it
more closely.
Pigeons down trousers (and an aubergine)
An
Australian traveller raised eyebrows and the suspicions of customs
officers after he was found with two live pigeons and an aubergine down
his underpants.
Customs officials said the 23-year-old man was caught at Melbourne Airport following a trip to the Middle East back in 2009.
Two baby pigeons were found down one man's trousers at Melbourne Airport - as well as an aubergine
Officials searched the man after they discovered two eggs hidden in a vitamin container in his luggage.
Customs
Service national investigations manager Richard Janeczko said the
pigeons were found wrapped in padded envelopes and held to each of the
man's legs with a pair of tights.
Officials
also seized seeds in his money belt and an undeclared aubergine, but
are at a loss to explain why the goods were smuggled into the country.
Children's toy guns
A
three-year-old boy learnt the harsh reality of airport security after
having his Minion toy gun confiscated because officials said it posed 'a
threat'.
Toddler
Leo Fitzpatrick was left distraught after being told he could not take
the toy with him while trying to board a flight from Dublin Airport with
his family last month.
The airport said toy guns – especially those with a trigger mechanism – are on the prohibited items list.
Leo
was travelling home from a trip to see his mother's family in Dublin
when his Minion Fart Blaster toy showed up on the airport's x-ray
machine.
Officials
asked his mother Daire, 25, to empty his backpack and revealed the
plastic megaphone toy, which lights up and makes rude noises when the
trigger is pulled.
And
in April this year, a four-year-old boy was frisked by airport security
and then forced to hand over his plastic nerf gun after it was deemed a
security risk.
Leo Fitzpatrick, three, (pictured with
his mother Daire) was left distraught after being told he could not
take his Minion toy gun with him while trying to board a flight from
Dublin Airport with his family
Four-year-old James Hayward had his toy gun confiscated at East Midlands Airport
James
Hayward had arrived at East Midlands Airport with his parents, Phil,
44, and Hazel, 38, and his brightly coloured toy - which fires sponge
darts - packed in his hand luggage for their flight out to Lanzarote.
But
security officers, who were described as 'over-zealous' by the boy's
father, then took exception to James's harmless toy when it was picked
up on the system's X-ray machines. They demanded he hand it over and
they also performed a thorough patting down and inspection of the
primary school child.
One passenger recounted a man putting his chicken through an airport scanner in Nepal
A pet chicken
Sometimes it's hard for us to be separated from our pets.
A
source told MailOnline Travel that a passenger put a chicken through
the X-ray scanner at the domestic flight terminal at Kathmandu Airport,
Nepal.
'We
were queuing through security and it really was quite surreal. There
were workers passing through their brooms and equipment,' he said.
'And
then one chap put his chicken through the scanner. A young-looking
security officer armed with a stick nearby didn't bat an eyelid.'
No-one could confirm whether the chicken eventually made it onto the flight.
A corpse
In 2010, a mum and daughter were arrested allegedly trying to transport a dead relative on to a busy holiday jet.
Staff grew suspicious at the unresponsive 91-year-old Kurt 'Willi' Jarant, but the females said that he was simply sleeping.
The
wife and step-daughter claimed the Alzheimer's sufferer was alive when
they arrived at Liverpool's John Lennon airport to catch an easyJet
flight to Berlin.
No charges were brought against the two women.
A sculpture made of deadly weapons
A
sculpture dubbed the 'War Throne' made entirely out of decommissioned
weaponry sparked controversy after federal agents seized it at
Philadelphia International airport this spring.
Customs
agents flagged the artwork, which features inert grenades, bullets,
land mines and more, when it arrived at the airport in April.
The sculpture featured inert grenades, bullets, land mines, and was perhaps unsurprisingly flagged by security
Adam
Solow, who purchased the War Throne for $8,200 from acclaimed
Mozambican sculptor Goncalo Mabunda, said the firearms no longer pose a
threat.
The
US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is now holding the
artwork, refusing to return it unless Solow applies for a firearms
importation permit or uses a broker.
Turtle down boy's underpants
An eight-year-old boy was caught trying to smuggle a pet turtle through airport customs in his underwear.
The
boy, named Congcong, and his grandmother were going through security
when his grandmother told him to let the turtle go as pets weren't
allowed on their flight from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
Congcong
was so enamored with the turtle that he refused to let go of it. At the
last minute he secretly stuffed the reptile into his underwear, hoping
he could smuggle it onto the plane.
A boy named Congcong smuggled his pet turtle in his underpants in the hope of travelling on the plane with it
But the plucky lad was busted when security officials noticed something moving in his underpants.
An alarm clock designed like a bomb
Bomb
disposal units were called to Toronto Pearson International Airport in
Canada after a teenager tried to board a plane with an alarm clock
designed to look like an explosive.
Peel Regional Police were surprised
that the alarm clock designed like an explosive was attempted to be
taken through the airport
The 15-year-old was travelling to Vancouver.
He was going through security when officials noted a suspicious device in his luggage.
The
explosive disposal unit was dispatched to Terminal 3, the screening
area was shut down, and the surrounding area was evacuated for about
three hours, reports CBC News.
The teenager was charged by police for 'mischief'.
The police are hoping lessons have been learnt following the incident at Toronto Pearson Airport
Peel Regional Police shared a photo of the alarm clock, asking whether people thought it was 'good idea'.
Constable
George Tudos told the Canadian news channel: 'The moral of the story is
make sure the items you pack are allowed on a plane.
'I mean, what did he think was going to happen if he packed something like this?'
A baby in a rucksack
A
desperate woman tried to smuggle her baby past airport security in
Papua New Guinea in a backpack, as she did not have correct immigration
papers for her son to leave the Philippines.
In 2012 an Egyptian couple tried to smuggle through their baby in a bag as it did not have the correct papers
The
two-month-old was discovered by shocked staff at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport after he was picked up by the X-ray machine.
According to ABS-CBN News, the child was soundly asleep when he was found by security at NAIA Terminal 1.
The single mother and her son were eventually allowed to leave the airport and no charges were filed.
In 2012 an Egyptian couple arrived at Sharjah International Airport in Egypt without the correct immigration papers.
They were told they would be held in the airport for a few days, so decided to risk their chances and put their child in a bag.
A cat in a handbag
An
airline passenger smuggled a kitten past security checks by hiding the
animal in her handbag on a flight into the UK from Greece.
Another traveller spotted the bag moving and informed authorities at Glasgow Airport after the 2,000-mile flight.
The
owner then refused to be separated from the stowaway, which had not
been picked up by security checks at Heraklion Airport in Crete.
A log of the incident released by Civil Aviation Authority states: 'Kitten had been missed by security on departure.'
The plane took off on September 10, 2014, without the creature being declared under the UK's Pet Travel Scheme.
The record states: 'Pax witnessed bag moving and alerted airline staff in baggage area who alerted Border Force.'
The owner was separated from the four-week old kitten, which was placed in quarantine to guard against infectious diseases.
The
log reads: 'Pax refused to be separated from kitten and claimed to have
appropriate documentation, however this was in their hold luggage which
did not make it to the destination and was being traced.'
One passenger attempted to hide a cat in her handbag on a flight out of Scotland to Greece
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