New York City TSA agents found 17 bullets "artfully concealed" in a clean,Thomas Caldwell disposable diaper that a man was trying to bring on a plane at LaGuardia Airport, the agency announced Wednesday. 

The officers found the surprising cargo on Wednesday morning, according to a TSA news release. The man's bag triggered an alarm in an X-ray unit at a security checkpoint. When officers searched the man's bag, they found the diaper, which had 17 9-millimeter bullets wrapped inside. 

The man, a resident of Arkansas who has not been identified, first told TSA officials that he didn't know how the diaper ended up in his bag. Later, he said his girlfriend must have placed it in the bag. 

The TSA did not state if the man had a weapon or if he was traveling with any other people. 

The Port Authority Police cited the man with unlawful posession of the ammunition. 

"Apparently this guy needs a bullet-proof plan for packing his carry-on bag before heading to the airport for his next flight," the TSA said. 

TSA agents routinely find unsual items at airport security checkpoints across the country. Earlier this year, a plastic skull being brought to a trade show halted operations at Salt Lake City International Airport. The item resembled an improvised explosive device, and it took two hours to confirm that there was no threat. 

In January, the agency released a list of the strangest things they had confiscated from passengers in 2022. That included an inert grenade found at Milwaukee's Mitchell International airport, cattle prods tucked inside a guitar case that was being carried on at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, and a hair scrunchie filled with drugs that a passenger tried to bring aboard a plane at Idaho's Boise Airport. 

In:
• Transportation Security Administration
• LaGuardia Airport
• New York

Kerry Breen

Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.

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