Carry-on or scary-on? You may never know what luggage can hold. Hint - skull, bones and ...

It began with a regular security check at Tampa International Airport in Florida, but turned into a horror scene of a movie after the US customs and border protection (CBP) officers opened a luggage and found human remains, including a ghastly skull.

The passenger initially declared 10 cigars on arrival, but officers realised the luggage was storing something far more unusual. Inside the bag, they found a skull and several bones wrapped in an aluminium foil, according to Carlos Martel, CBP's director of field operations in the region.

🚬 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

Sharing images in a post on X, Martel wrote, "The traveller claimed the items were for rituals, but due to serious health risks, the items were seized and destroyed." One photo showed a skull nestled among foil packets, while another displayed fragments of bone.

Adding a grim pun to his post, Martel quipped, "At CBP, we never know what baggage may hold, but smugglers should know we'll always have a bone to pick."

In addition to the skeletal remains, officers also discovered prohibited plants and undeclared cigars.