Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Dulles CBP seizes nearly 90 pounds of cooked Ethiopian sheep meat

(May 24, 20011, STERLING, VA)- Counting sheep has long been a fabled remedy for falling asleep, but for CBP agriculture specialists, counting 15 bags of cooked sheep meat that an Ethiopian brought to Washington Dulles International Airport Thursday didn’t tire them one bit.

When customs officials at Dulles airport asked an Ethiopian man whether he was carrying any foreign food products, he very honestly replied "yes." Officials said that when the searched the man's luggage, was baaaaaaa-d they found 15 bags of cooked, curried sheep meat, weighing nearly 90 pounds.

"Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists typically encounter similar food products arriving from Africa, but the sheer volume makes this an extraordinarily unique seizure," said Christopher Hess, CBP director for the Port of Washington. "That's an awful lot of food product to stuff inside one's baggage."

Inspectors found packets of the reddish-colored cooked meat in all six of the man's suitcases. After seizing the meat, the man was allowed to continue to his final destination in Seattle. The meat had to stay, though — Customs and Border Protection said it was disposed of in an incinerator.

The passenger declared possessing food products in his baggage. Federal regulations bar the importation of animal products from countries known to have "exotic foreign animal diseases." CBP released the passenger to continue his journey to Seattle. CBP agriculture specialists incinerated the sheep meat.

Please visit CBP’s Travel site at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/ for more information on admissible and prohibited products.
Source:CBP

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