A suspected human skull and bones were discovered in a passenger’s luggage at a Florida airport, giving authorities “a bone to pick.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials were in for a surprise when they uncovered the remains at Tampa International Airport.
A passenger had declared 10 cigars in their luggage, but CBP Agriculture Specialists uncovered “prohibited plants, undeclared cigars, and a foil-wrapped duffel bag containing what looked like human remains, including part of a skull,” according to a Thursday social media post from Carlos C. Martel, the director of field operations for CBP in the Miami and Tampa offices.
Pictures shared by Martel showed CBP officials wearing gloves as they examined the luggage. One photo showed a skull and bones wrapped in aluminum foil.
The passenger said the items were for “rituals.” CBP did not clarify what type of rituals. It's not clear if the passenger is facing charges.
Authorities seized and destroyed the items “due to serious health risks.”
Traveling with human remains is an extensive process. Passengers bringing remains into the U.S. must provide a death certificate, except for cremated or embalmed remains, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
All non-cremated remains must be in a leak-proof container to prevent exposure to blood and other body fluids.
“This requirement is intended to protect the public as well as federal, airline, and airport employees from potential exposure to blood and other body fluids during transportation, inspection, or storage of human remains,” the CDC says.
While there are no permit requirements for importing clean, dry bones or bone fragments, a permit may be required if the remains are brought into the U.S. for “any purpose other than burial, entombment or cremation.”
“At @CBP, we never know what baggage may hold, but smugglers should know we’ll always have a bone to pick,” director Martel said.
Last month, CBP officers at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia busted a Las Vegas woman for trying to smuggle 59 pounds of marijuana out of the country, according to authorities.
Aleshia Anne Pinheiro, 42, faced felony narcotics charges after officers found nearly half a million dollars' worth of marijuana in her luggage, a press release from the agency said.
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