A routine luggage search at Tampa International Airport turned bizarre recently when U.S. Customs officials uncovered human remains in a passenger’s baggage.
Carlos C. Martel, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection director of field operations for Miami and Tampa, shared a series of photos on X/Twitter last Thursday depicting an unusual discovery made by agents. The pictures showed human remains that were recently discovered in a passenger’s luggage at Tampa International.
“What started as a passenger declaring just 10 cigars at @FlyTPA turned bizarre,” Martel said. “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.”
The person explained the presence of the bones by saying they were necessary for “rituals,” but the items were confiscated and destroyed due to “serious health risk.”
“At @CBP, we never know what baggage may hold, but smugglers should know we’ll always have a bone to pick,” Martel joked.
🚬 FROM CIGARS TO BONES?! 💀
What started as a passenger declaring just 10 cigars at @FlyTPA turned bizarre. CBP Agriculture Specialists uncovered prohibited plants, undeclared cigars, and a foil-wrapped duffel bag containing what looked like human remains, including part of a… pic.twitter.com/yxFKtU5EQP— Director of Field Operations Carlos C. Martel (@DFOFlorida) September 18, 2025
Making sense of this wild discovery
We’re not sure we want to know why this person attempted to bring human remains into the country, and will just take them at their word that they were for “rituals.” We also don’t want to know too much about where they got the bones from either.
Believe it or not, it is legal to travel with remains for the intention of burial or cremation, but CDC requirements depend on “the purpose of importation, whether the body has been embalmed or cremated, and if a person died from a quarantinable communicable disease,” per Customs and Border Patrol.
Additionally, anybody bringing remains into the U.S. for future internment or cremation must provide a valid death certificate.
“CBP Officers will examine the death certificate to determine the cause of death and ensure that the remains are shipped in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirements,” says the CBP website. “If CDC requirements are not met, CBP will hold the casket and contact the appropriate quarantine station for instructions.”
There are no underlying requirements for the following human remains:
- clean, dry bones or bone fragments
- human hair
- teeth
- fingernails or toenails
- human remains that are cremated before entry into the United States (no death certificate needed.)
You can find out more here.
