A checked bag flagged for an Xbox gaming console led Transportation Security Administration officers at LaGuardia Airport to a stack of fraudulent driver’s licenses this month, resulting in an arrest just before the passenger’s flight was set to board.
The TSA said the bag alarmed on the Xbox system during screening. TSA Officer Ashley Leo, working the on-screen resolution area, diverted the bag to checked baggage resolution, where Supervisory Transportation Security Officer Christopher Ramos was stationed.
Searching the bag, Ramos found a plastic bag containing several fake IDs sitting right next to the Xbox that had set off the alarm.
“I noticed various driver’s licenses with different dates of birth and different class types, but all with the same photograph,” Ramos said in a statement released by the TSA.
“I was focused on following our screening procedures and paying close attention to anything that appeared unusual,” he said. “When I discovered the fraudulent IDs, I knew it was important to report the situation through the proper channels.”
TSA management, airport officials and Port Authority police were brought in. Authorities confirmed the IDs were fraudulent and arrested the passenger shortly before he was scheduled to board his flight.
“STSO Christopher Ramos’ strict adherence to standard operating procedures, diligence and situational awareness prevented the fraudulent IDs from entering the airport’s secure area,” said TSA LGA Federal Security Director John Essig.
Essig added that catching fraudulent IDs is a key part of TSA’s layered security strategy, helping confirm that people entering secure areas of the airport are who they say they are.
The LaGuardia find is one of several unusual screening discoveries TSA has reported recently. At Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas, officers found a pocketknife hidden inside a tube of toothpaste during routine carry-on screening. At Tampa International Airport in Florida, officers discovered a 4-inch double-edged knife concealed inside a baseball bat-shaped flashlight.
