A Brooklyn man's .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun was confiscated at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday after it was discovered to be concealed inside a PlayStation 2, security officials said.
The unidentified traveler, who was taking a flight to Mexico City, was arrested after Transportation Security Administration checkpoint officers found parts of the handgun hidden inside the gaming device, according to the TSA.
On Wednesday, TSA officers were alerted after the metal detector set off while the man walked through security, The Washington Post reported. Upon further investigation, the x-ray machine showed some discrepancies at the bottom off the PlayStation.
After opening the device, agents found that the Sturm-Ruger .22 caliber automatic pistol had meticulously been disassembled and packed inside various different baggages.
While the most easily identifiable part, including the hand grip, were stuffed inside bottom of a PlayStation 2, the barrel and a couple of other pieces of the firearm had been packed in the man's carry-on luggage alongside a tripod nestled with the traveler's other belongings.
Additionally, the video game "Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots" was also tucked beside all the handgun parts.
After contacting local police, the traveler was arrested on a weapons charge on Wednesday, according to CNN.
Last month, a 94-year-old Brooklyn man's .38-caliber loaded handgun was confiscated at New York's LaGuardia Airport as he was passing through passenger screening with the weapon strapped to his belt.
In October, dozens of loaded firearms, inert military grenades, a mobile phone disguised as a stun gun, a tiny lipstick knife and a total of 181 guns were confiscated from carry-on bags of pistol-packing passengers travelling at major U.S. airports, according to the Transportation and Security Administration.
Among the prohibited firearms seized between Oct. 3 and Oct. 30, a total of 157 guns were reportedly loaded, nearly a third with rounds chambered, according to the TSA Blog's latest round-up.
"Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds," the TSA, who tallies the number of confiscated firearms each week, wrote on its official blog.
Meanwhile, the TSA has discovered 2,100 guns at airport checkpoints, a 16 percent increase from 2013.
