A Rhode Island man is facing a hefty fine after he was allegedly caught trying to conceal gun parts in two jars of peanut butter at JFK International Airport in New York City on Dec. 22.
His checked baggage set off a metal detector, prompting TSA officers to take a closer look at his luggage.
Firearm parts from a .22 caliber gun, including a loaded magazine, were found wrapped in plastic then stuffed inside two peanut butter jars, according to the TSA.
"The gun parts were artfully concealed in two smooth creamy jars of peanut butter, but there was certainly nothing smooth about the way the man went about trying to smuggle his gun," John Essig, TSA’s Federal Security Director for JFK Airport, said in a statement.
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Port Authority Police confiscated the gun parts then tracked the man down and arrested him, according to TSA. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment about charges that the man could face.
The man faces a civil penalty of up to $15,000 from the TSA.
TSA has stopped a record number of firearms at airport security checkpoints this year. As of Dec. 16, more than 6,300 firearms were stopped, an increase from 5,972 in all of 2021.
