ELMHURST, Queens — TSA officers at LaGuardia Airport recently discovered over a dozen bullets hidden inside a chewing gum container at a security checkpoint, officials said.
An officer from the transportation security agency spotted the ammunition when a Bronx man’s carry-on duffle bag went through the X-ray machine on Jan. 14, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said.
According to officials, the Miami-bound traveler’s bag contained two large containers of Mentos gum and upon closer examination it was determined one container was full of actual gum, while the second was a mix of gum and 13 bullets.
The man told officials the bag belonged to his son and clamed he did not even know the gum containers were in the duffle bag, the TSA said.
The Port Authority Police were alerted and confiscated the bullets before citing the man on a local charge, according to officials.
Details of the charge were not clear.
