The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confiscated a record-breaking number of firearms at airport security checkpoints this month — and has the photos to prove it.



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A Record Breaking 78 Firearms Were Discovered in Carry-on Bags This Week - 68 Loaded https://t.co/8gM8lX6pS4 pic.twitter.com/gkI3tziSK9 — TSA (@TSA) August 12, 2016

Failed attempt to artfully conceal a knife in a pill bottle. Detected by @TSA at a SFO Airport checkpoint last week. pic.twitter.com/A1xQksNfro — TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) August 16, 2016

A cane with a sword concealed in it from LaGuardia Airport. @TSA has a video on sword canes: https://t.co/xazzkE8SPq pic.twitter.com/KZusj2S1Uc — TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) August 18, 2016

The agency announced in a weekly blog post update that it collected 78 firearms in carry-on bags around the country last week, 68 of which were loaded. The previous record, set in May, was 74 firearms in one week.In an ongoing effort to raise awareness about prohibited items, the TSA took to Twitter and Instagram to display the dozens of guns and other objects that agents seized last week, including four inert and replica grenades, a cane sword, and a small knife stuffed into a pill bottle.



The TSA’s social media accounts are often goldmines of prohibited items that range from brass knuckles and batons to firearms and fireworks.



“In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly in carry-on bags, our officers also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and pellet guns, airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, stun guns, small pocketknives and many other prohibited items too numerous to note,” the TSA said in a blog post.





These fireworks were detected by @TSA in a JFK passenger's carry-on bag. They are flammable + not allowed on planes. pic.twitter.com/B0nEzJ0QFZ — TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) August 16, 2016

Brass knuckles caught in carry-on bag by @TSA at LaGuardia on Sat. They are illegal in NYC. Don't make this mistake. pic.twitter.com/Ko3SakrYyw — TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) July 5, 2016



The agency has ramped up its public outreach — particularly in the busier summer travel months — to help ensure a smooth travel experience for passengers.



TSA representatives were deployed to airports throughout the country this summer to discuss which items are prohibited at security checkpoints, outline how travelers can properly transport firearms in checked luggage and to share other travel tips.



The agency also encourages passengers to send questions to one of its “Ask TSA” accounts, which launched on Twitter last year and expanded to Facebook messenger last month.



Flight passengers can even send a picture directly to the account and a customer service representative will indicate whether it’s allowed on a plane.



“Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds,” the agency said in a blog post. “Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the line is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested.”



Travelers who bring firearms to a security checkpoint could face criminal charges from law enforcement and up to $11,000 in civil penalties from the agency.



But even though firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags, the TSA emphasizes that passengers can bring them in checked bags as long as the items are properly packed and declared.



Traveling with a replica grenade, however, is never permissible.