Man arrested at JFK trying to smuggle gun inside Jif peanut butter jars

A Rhode Island man found himself in a sticky situation at New York’s JFK airport — after he was busted trying to sneak a disassembled gun through security in jars of peanut butter, officials said.

Transportation Security Administration authorities said that an officer found parts of a .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun wrapped in plastic and stuffed inside of two separate jars of Jif peanut butter in the passenger’s checked baggage Thursday.

The gun’s magazine was loaded with bullets, officials said Friday.

The man’s baggage triggered an alarm in the X-ray unit in Terminal 8. TSA officials notified Port Authority Police who confiscated the baggage and arrested the unidentified man.

It was unclear where the man was flying to.

“The gun parts were artfully concealed in two smooth creamy jars of peanut butter, but there was certainly nothing smooth about the way the man went about trying to smuggle his gun,” John Essig, TSA’s Federal Security Director for JFK Airport, said in a statement. 

“Our officers are good at their jobs and are focused on their mission — especially during the busy holiday travel period,” Essig said.

The man is facing a civil penalty that carries a fine up to $15,000.