TSA Finds Suspected Fentanyl, Meth and Ketamine Concealed Inside a Mac mini at Phoenix Airport
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said its officers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport discovered suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine and ketamine concealed inside a tampered Apple Mac mini desktop computer in a passenger's carry-on bag, in a release dated October 9.
Lead TSA Officer Logan Stortz, operating the X-ray, noticed an electronic item with an unusual mass and wiring and prompted a bag check. Property search officer Isaiah Martinez Jr. consulted with Stortz, and Supervisory Officer Emily Price saw a large organic mass beneath the computer and called in explosives specialist Robert Rosas Perez II. After the items were run through the X-ray again, officers saw the mass sat inside the box under a concealed compartment, and the computer showed signs of tampering.
Perez opened the edge near the suspicious area and found a substance in large crystallized-rock form along with an unknown orange pill-like item, all wrapped in plastic, and stopped procedures. "This is probably not as uncommon as the public might think," Perez said. "Every day, passengers attempt to bring illicit, illegal, prohibited or suspected illegal items through security checkpoints." Phoenix police arrested the passenger, whose identity TSA did not release, and preliminary field testing indicated the presence of fentanyl, methamphetamine and ketamine.
TSA notes its primary responsibility at checkpoints is to detect weapons, explosives and other threats to aviation, not to enforce narcotics laws, but officers notify law enforcement when they encounter suspected illegal drugs during screening. "Our officers' vigilance and teamwork made the difference in this incident," Phoenix TSA Federal Security Director Jerry Agnew said.
Source: GSM · USA
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: TSA机场安检口（资料图）。美国国土安全部官方照片，公共领域，经Wikimedia Commons。 / A TSA security checkpoint (file photo). Official U.S. Department of Homeland Security photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
