Transportation Security Administration officers at Charleston's Yeager Airport found more than $100,000 in the carry-on luggage of two Los Angeles-bound travelers as they attempted to pass through a security checkpoint early Tuesday, while TSA screeners at Huntington's Tri-State Airport found a loaded handgun in the carry-on bag of a Kentucky man at a security gate on Monday.
Two women attempting to return to Los Angeles after having arrived in Charleston two days earlier were detained by TSA personnel after discovering the cash. While carrying large amounts of cash is not expressly forbidden on domestic flights, TSA officers are "trained to ask questions and assess passenger reactions" when encountering large sums, since they "routinely come across evidence of criminal activity at airport checkpoints," TSA Chief Counsel Francine Kerner said in a TSA blog post. Based on their conversations with passengers carrying large sums of cash, the TSA officers "determine whether a referral to law enforcement authorities is warranted."
In this case, Yeager Airport Police were called in, and they, in turn, summoned the Metro Drug Unit.
According to a release from Yeager Airport Police, more details of the incident will be released after an investigation is complete. The identities of the two women were not made known.
Meanwhile, at Huntington's Tri-State Airport, in Ashland, Kentucky, man was cited by airport police on a state weapons charge after a TSA officer staffing an x-ray machine discovered what turned out to be a .380 caliber handgun loaded with five bullets, including one in the firing chamber, inside a carry-on bag as it passed along a conveyor belt.
TSA officials said the incident serves as a reminder that passengers are responsible for the contents of their bags and should examine them thoroughly to make sure they are not bringing prohibited items to the airport. Unloaded weapons can be transported as checked bags if they are placed in hard-sided cases, separate from ammunition, and declared to TSA personnel.