TSA officers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport discovered suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine and ketamine hidden inside an Apple Mac mini desktop computer during a routine security screening, according to a TSA release dated Oct. 9.
Lead TSA Officer Logan Stortz first noticed an unusual mass and wiring inside the computer while it passed through the X-ray machine as part of a passenger’s carry-on bag. His first thought wasn’t that it was contraband.
“Initially, I thought this might be a test run by one of the many levels of testing teams within TSA,” Stortz said. “When I found out it was drugs, I was very surprised.”
TSA Officer Isaiah Martinez Jr. searched the bag and consulted with Stortz about the computer’s suspicious contents.
“I was in shock, noticed something was awry and immediately notified a supervisor,” Martinez said.
A second screening turned up a mass beneath a concealed area of the device along with further signs of tampering, TSA said. An explosives specialist, Robert Rosas Perez II, then examined the computer and found plastic-wrapped material inside, including a crystallized substance and an orange pill-like item.
“I stopped all procedures at that point,” Perez said.
Officers called law enforcement to the checkpoint, where preliminary field tests indicated the materials included suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine and ketamine, according to TSA. Phoenix police arrested the passenger, whose identity has not been released.
Supervisory TSA Officer Emily Price said the method of concealment stood out from what officers typically encounter.
“The way this was concealed was unusual,” Price said.
Still, Perez said incidents like this aren’t as rare as travelers might assume.
“This is probably not as uncommon as the public might think,” he said. “Every day, passengers attempt to bring illicit, illegal, prohibited or suspected illegal items through security checkpoints.”
TSA noted that its checkpoint officers are primarily focused on detecting weapons, explosives and other threats to aviation safety rather than enforcing drug laws. When screeners come across suspected illegal drugs, they notify local law enforcement, as happened in this case.
