Halloween might be around the corner already, as agriculture specialists from the US Customers and Border Protection at Chicago O'Hare International Airport have seized six human skulls. There were three packages in total, with each containing two human skulls.

Unexpected human remains

The packages arrived on March 29th and were initially identified by an agricultural canine unit as part of efforts to ramp up screenings for prohibited items. Finding anomalies showing up on X-ray inspections, the packages were further inspected to reveal the human skulls.

Although the sender remains unknown, all three packages were sent by the same person originating from the Netherlands, with their final destination initially bound for an address in Iowa. The reasons for the shipment remain a mystery.

GettyImages-1253880357 TSA checkpoints
The shipment of skulls arrived on March 29th and was inspected by CBPAS after X-rays showed irregularities. Photo: Getty Images

Eventually, all the packages with six skulls intact were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for additional analysis and possible disposal - a prompt effort by the Customs and Border Protection officers. The director of CBPAS field operations-Chicago field office, LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, commented,

"Our nation's food supply is constantly at risk from pests and disease not known to occur in the US These significant interceptions by our CBPAS at the IMF at O’Hare exemplify CBP's continued commitment to safeguarding American agriculture."

Worrying statistics

While the skulls may seem odd enough, it would seem that Chicago O'Hare has been seeing a recent gradual increase in unexpected and unusual items. Over the past six months, the airport has witnessed nearly 1,700 shipments of prohibited items such as live moss bathmats - with a shipment arriving on March 8th from Poland containing three individual Live Pole Moss Bathmats.

Fortunately, the agricultural canine unit had again sniffed out the suspicious shipment, and it was eventually destroyed by steam sterilization. In regards to this shipment, the Customs and Border Protection said:

"This shipment could inadvertently introduce plant diseases, propagative materials, and insects into the United States which could harm US agriculture."

US Airports expect a busier than usual Thanksgiving
Photo: Getty Images

Other prohibited items included live snails, food items such as pork and beef sausages, and seeds for planting. All such shipments did not have the necessary permits or certificates of approval and were subsequently destroyed.

What is going on?

It's not just Chicago O'Hare that has been experiencing such strange phenomena. The Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) has recently reported an alarming increase in failed attempts to bring firearms through airport security checkpoints.

The usual reason occurs to be having simply forgotten that the firearm was in the passenger's possession at the time. But things got even stranger when on April 6th, a one-foot knife that was hidden inside a passenger's walking cane was seized at Boston Logan International Airport, and as the TSA would put it:

"Some carry-on items may be prohibited even if they appear not to be, like a cane with a hidden sword."

Suppose you thought things could not get any weirder. In that case, you're in for yet another surprise to know that on April 7th, a passenger traveling through Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport attempted to make it through airport security with a dagger concealed in their hairbrush.

Travel light

A piece of advice to traveling passengers, you might want to pack light and leave those prohibited items and kitchen utensils back home. Perhaps, declaring correctly on your arrival cards might do some good too.