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A man, identified as 26-year-old Arman Achutan Nair from Chicago, was reportedly carrying a vampire straw inside his luggage as he went inside Boston’s Logan International Airport on Sunday, April 23. He had purchased the vampire straw from Szabo Inc., which has a wide collection of sharp objects like knives.
For the uninitiated, a vampire straw is a custom-made titanium straw that is quite long and sharp, making it handy for going through any kind of synthetic material.
The Transport Security Administration posted a tweet featuring the straw’s picture and writing that such items cannot be carried in passenger carry-ons.
According to the Massachusetts State Police, Arman was detained after a trooper was alerted about the straw. Nair has already posted bail and will be taken to the East Boston Municipal Court on May 30, 2023.
The object was recovered from Arman’s backpack at around 5:40 pm at Terminal B near Gate 24. He was slammed with charges of having a dangerous weapon in his possession.
"Easy to deploy": Why is a vampire straw dangerous?
According to Szabo Inc.'s website, a vampire straw is a drinking straw that can be purchased at $85, but it takes four weeks for delivery as it is a custom order. The website says that it can also be useful for self-defense.
As per the official description, the straw is “machined one at the time in the USA out of grade 9 titanium.”
The website also mentions that the straw is long enough to be used in any long beverage. But it is so tough that it can be used like a dagger and can puncture any kind of synthetic material. The straw can also help with tire deflation and can be carried in a cup without being spotted by anyone.
The website further adds:
“From a cup, the Vampire straw is very easy to deploy in reverse grip, and put into action almost instantly.”
Szabo Inc. also claims that the straws are unaffected by corrosion, deeming them to be “a testament of the ingenuity human beings possessed to invent contraptions to hurt each other.”
TSA has detected several weapons inside passenger bags in the last few months
The number of incidents involving weapons found inside passenger bags has increased since January 2023. Data from the TSA states that around 17 firearms have been detected every day until March 2023 and this marks an increase in the data compared to 2022.
Speaking of data from the last few years, around 4,000 to 6,000 firearms were detected inside the airports between 2019 and 2022. If someone is carrying a firearm, it must be unloaded and kept inside a hard-side case in a checked bag.
