Is that 44 iPhones in your stockings or are you just happy to see me?

You have to give airport security credit. Sometimes they make some interesting finds with those body scanners of theirs.

The latest example comes in an article by my colleague Ben Camm-Jones. He writes:

A woman has been caught trying to smuggle 44 iPhones into Israel – in her stockings.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported last week that the woman, wearing traditional Georgian dress, had been stopped at Ben-Gurion International Airport as she appeared to have trouble walking.

When approached by the airport’s security staff, she claimed to feel unwell though was required to pass through a full-body scanner. The woman, aged in her 60s and returning to the county after a visit to London, was then found to have the iPhones secreted in her stockings.

Though smuggling attempts are relatively commonplace, the security officials were amazed to find no less than 44 iPhone 4s. The case came to light after internal data from the Israeli customs unit about the incident was obtained by the newspaper.

According to the report, a decision as to whether to prosecute the woman will be taken soon, though she could escape with a fine. Only the day before the scanner detected eight rare birds on the body of a passenger, Haaretz said.

The story doesn’t say what they did with the iPhones after confiscating them. I can only imagine.

My biggest question is this:

Why did she choose to smuggle iPhones instead of another brand of smartphone like Android or BlackBerry?

Would Androids or BlackBerries have been more comfortable than iPhones?

Probably not in the case of the BlackBerry. All those little keypads would probably cause one heck of an itch.

For airport security, it could be worse. An officer could always end up in this awkward situation.

–Bill Brenner