440 Pounds Of Unprocessed Cotton Seized From Family Entering US From Afghanistan

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said officers seized over 400 pounds of unprocessed cotton from international travelers arriving in Washington, D.C., due to the presence of seeds and the potential for harmful pests.

CBP officers at Washington Dulles International Airport on Monday referred a family arriving from Afghanistan for secondary examination, and found three large duffel bags packed with about 440 pounds of unprocessed cotton. The travelers reported they had purchased the cotton from a store with the intention to fabricate their own bedding products.

Officers consulted with CBP agriculture specialists, who found the raw cotton still contained seeds. The cotton and seeds were prohibited without a U.S. Department of Agriculture permit, phytosanitary certificate, and specific entry treatments such as fumigation. Unprocessed cotton is treated as a potential vector for invasive pests including the cotton seed bug and pink bollworm.

CBP seized the raw cotton and released the family.

“It’s important for travelers to know that something that they consider traditional and innocuous may be inadmissible because it could pose a serious threat to our nation’s agriculture and textile industries,” said CBP Area Port Director Christine Waugh, Area Port of Washington, D.C. “Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists have a very important role and that is to educate travelers about these potential threats while they also protect our nation’s vital agricultural resources, and by extension, our nation’s economic security.”