A third passenger, who arrived to Dulles from
Cameroon, failed to honestly declare 4 pounds, 6
ounces of beef that CBP agriculture specialists
discovered inside her luggage and was assessed a
$300 penalty.
Fruit are potential vectors for invasive insect
pests and fruit diseases that could cripple
America’s crop industries. CBP enforces USDA’s
regulations governing the import of animal
products to reduce the risk of introducing
exotic animal diseases into the United States.
“It is very alarming that passengers are taking
extreme efforts to conceal agriculture products
that should be declared during the Customs and
Border Protection arrivals inspection,” said
Michael Lovejoy, Director, CBP Baltimore Field
Office. “These are very serious threats because
of the potentially severe agriculture and
economic consequences that plant and animal
diseases pose. Customs and Border Protection
agriculture specialists take their job of
protecting America’s agriculture very
seriously.”
CBP employs several tactics to ensure passenger
compliance with U.S. agriculture laws. First is
the CBP Declaration Form which asks travelers to
truthfully declare what they are bringing to the
U.S. A CBP officer will ask those questions
again during the primary arrivals inspection.
A CBP agriculture detector dog, a beagle,
patrols the primary and baggage return floors
searching for agriculture products. Some
passengers, and in some cases entire flights,
may be referred to a secondary examination where
CBP x-rays baggage, and if necessary, opens and
searches baggage.
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