Drugs, fake IDs and counterfeit goods are only the beginning of what Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seize on a daily basis. Here are nine crazy things people have tried to sneak across international borders:
1. Live pigeons
Feb. 1: An Australian man was caught with two pigeons hidden in
his pants on an international flight from Dubai to Melbourne, Australia.
(AP)
Customs
officials stopped a 23-year-old Australian man after they discovered two
eggs in a vitamin container in his luggage. It was under his pant legs
that they discovered pigeons
wrapped in padded envelopes and secured to each of the man’s legs with a
pair of tights. Officials also seized seeds in his money belt and an
undeclared eggplant.
The bird smuggler arrived in Australia on a
flight from Dubai in February 2009. Charges of wildlife smuggling carry a
maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of about $70,430. 2. Egyptian mummy linen
Mummy linen
CBP officers in Michigan seized five jars of ancient Egyptian mummy linen coming illegally through the northern border in May 2019.
Inspection
of a shipment on a Canadian mail truck in Marysville on May 25 revealed
the illegal antiquities believed to be from between 305 to 30 BCE, the
agency said. The U.S. government focused on repatriating the artifacts
back to Egypt. 3. Live tarantulas
Tarantula's confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are
shown in this December 3, 2010 handout photo released to Reuters January
18, 2011. REUTERS/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Handout
Yuck!
A German man in 2011 pled guilty to shipping hundreds of live
tarantulas into the U.S. through the mail. Sven Koppler, 37, admitted
mailing some 247 live tarantulas to federal agents in Los Angeles, who
were posing as buyers as part of an investigation dubbed “Operation
Spiderman,” according to Reuters.
The
investigation began when a routine inspection revealed about 300 live
tarantulas in a package he mailed to Los Angeles. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service agents placed more orders for spiders from Koppler and were
sent a total of five packages containing dozens of live and dead
tarantulas. Koppler was arrested when he traveled to Los Angeles months
later. He received a total of $300,000 from tarantula sales to spider
fanciers in dozens of countries. 4. Man disguised as a car seat
Enrique Aquilar Canchola, a 42-year-old Mexican national, hides in
the seat of a vehicle as part of an attempt to illegally emigrate to
the United States at the San Ysidro border crossing in San Ysidro,
California, June 7, 2001.
Mexican national Enrique Aguilar Canchola can
be seen sewn into a passenger seat of a vehicle in an attempt to
illegally enter the U.S.
Canchola was stopped at the San Ysidro
border crossing in California in 2001. This was only the beginning of
intricate and potentially dangerous compact spaces undocumented
immigrants have tried to squeeze into to cross the U.S. border. 5. Black market bologna
Bologna
In November 2019, CBP officers seized more than 150 pounds
of the curious deli meat at port of entry in El Paso, Texas. The CBP
said bologna is prohibited to cross the border due to its pork content.
Pork products from overseas could introduce foreign animal diseases to
the U.S. pork industry. The smuggler tried to tell officers it was
turkey ham when questioned about the red rolls lying in the back of his
truck. 6. Live songbirds
Songbirds
Sony Dong, 56, was arrested in 2016 for again
trying to smuggle endangered “good luck” songbirds into Los Angeles from
Vietnam. He was sentenced to a year and a half in prison in 2018 and
ordered to pay a $5,500 fine after the judge said the conditions in
which the tiny birds were trafficked -- taped to the legs and ankles of
smugglers -- were “deplorable,” according to the East Bay Times.
In
2010, Dong had been sentenced to four months in prison after Customs
officers found 14 live Asian songbirds, individually wrapped in cloth
and strapped to his legs as he tried to pass through LAX after a 15-hour
flight from Ho Chi Minh City.
The tiny birds reportedly cost a
few dollars each in Southeast Asia but collect between $500 and $1,000
when sold illegally at Chinese markets in Southern California. 7. A whole pig’s head
In this Oct. 11, 2018 photo provided by the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, CBP Agriculture Detector K-9 named Hardy looks at a
roasted pig’s head at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport.(U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP)
Hardy the Beagle, who works for CBP as an
agriculture detector, discovered this roasted pig’s head and other
remnants at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in
October 2018. A passenger traveling from Equador was relieved of his
leftovers and they were destroyed to avoid introducing foot and mouth
disease, classical swine fever and other animal diseases. 8. Dead birds for pet food
Agriculture specialists with the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) seized a package of dead birds from the luggage of a
passenger traveling from China.
Just this week Customs announced that agents in Washington, D.C., seized a package of dead birds from the luggage of a passenger traveling from China.
CBP agriculture specialists inspected the passenger’s bag and found the
prohibited birds, which the passenger said were food for his cat.
Officers seized and incinerated the deceased animals so as to avoid
spreading the highly contagious bird flu. 9. Live tropical fish
"Goldfish market in Tung Choi Street in Hong Kong, China"
This may have been the most daring attempt of
them all. Customs officials stopped a woman in 2005 when she arrived in
Melbourne off a flight from Singapore. There they found 51 live tropical
fish in plastic bags tucked into a custom-made apron tied around her
waist.
"During
the search, customs officers became suspicious after hearing 'flipping'
noises coming from the vicinity of her waist," the Australian Customs
Service said in a press release. "An examination revealed 15 plastic
water-filled bags holding fish allegedly concealed inside a
purpose-built apron." See the photo at NBC.
