CBP Seizes Over 260 Pounds Of Pork From Vehicle Entering From Mexico

U.S. Customs and Border Protection confiscated more than 260 pounds of pork products from a vehicle entering the U.S. from Mexico last week.

CBP officers assigned to the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo, Texas, on the evening of April 17 encountered a Dodge Caliber and referred it for secondary inspection. Officers found a black bag containing prohibited pork items under the passenger seat, as well as multiple bags of pork products in the rear hatch area.

Agriculture specialists seized 112.86 kgs of chorizo, 3.81 kgs of pork sausage, 1.40 kgs of blood sausage, totaling more than 260 pounds of meat. The vehicle was seized by CBP officers, and the driver was issued a $1,000 civil penalty for the undeclared commercial quantity of prohibited pork products.

CBP agriculture specialists working at ports of entry enforce U.S. Department of Agriculture quarantines on various items to prevent the entry of pests as well as plant and animal diseases that could harm U.S. agriculture.

“Our frontline CBP officers maintained strict vigilance amid the onslaught of heavy Holy Week traffic and uncovered a commercial quantity of pork hidden within a passenger vehicle,” Port Director Albert Flores, Laredo Port of Entry, said in a statement. “Seizures like these reinforce CBPs dedication to protecting American agriculture and the American public from prohibited agricultural items that could harbor plant pests and animal diseases.”