US border officials clamp down on prohibited items
Passenger involved arrived from Ghana
CDC says bats are dangerous
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have reported discovering some unusual items in the baggage of a passenger arriving from Ghana at the Washington Dulles International Airport.
CNN reports that three and a half pounds of bat meat, 12 pounds of tetraplura (a flowering plant from West Africa), turkey berries (yellow-green, pea-sized berries), and eggplants were among the items found in the baggage of the said passenger.
A news release from the Customs and Border Protection indicated that the passenger from Maryland arrived from the West African country on April 5.
The plants were seized and destroyed while the meat was handed over to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The items were rejected because according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bat meat is considered ‘bush meat’ and is therefore prohibited from entering the U.S.
Bushmeat has also been linked to the spread of Ebola considering humans may be exposed to the virus while hunting, butchering, and eating infected animals. They have also been suggested as a possible source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plants were also prevented from entering because they are prohibited.
“Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists play a very challenging frontline role in protecting the public, our nation’s agricultural industries, and our economic vitality every day against the deliberate or accidental introduction of potentially crippling animal diseases that may be carried in passenger baggage,” Daniel Escobedo, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, DC, said in the release.
The traveler was however released, the statement further clarified.