It could have been the beginning of a small deli, but to customs officials at Dulles International Airport, the 15 pounds of pork a passenger tried to smuggle from Germany was a serious concern.
"Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists take their job of protecting American livestock very seriously," said Christopher Hess, CBP Director for the Port of Washington. "Eradicating highly-contagious animal diseases is a very costly proposition."
The passenger flew in from Frankfurt. He said he didn't have any food products with him. But how can you hide pork? What was he going to do with that exotic Black Forest ham? And with airport security tight as a drum, why would anyone risk smuggling anything into the U.S. these days?
The passenger got off rather light: He was slapped with a $300 fine and the pork was destroyed.
There were more serious consequences last December at Dulles. A man from Guatemala tried to smuggle in a roasted chicken stuffed with 60 grams of cocaine -- really busted.
