EL PASO, Texas — This bologna has a first name. It’s I-L-L-E-G-A-L.
Customs officials seized 484 pounds of bologna and 285 pounds of cheese at a border crossing in El Paso on Thursday, authorities said.
According to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officers working at the Paso Del Norte border crossing in downtown El Paso seized the illegal goods during two inspections.
CBP officers working at the Paso Del Norte bridge in downtown El Paso seized 484 pounds of bologna and 285 pounds of cheese during the early morning hours of Thursday. https://t.co/O6kIXeYvPo
— KFOX14 News (@KFOX14) October 27, 2022
Customs officials said the bologna was confiscated just after 1:30 a.m. MDT when a 32-year-old man who is a U.S. citizen was driving a pickup truck and applied for entry into the country, KTSM-TV reported. During a secondary inspection, officers discovered 44 rolls of Mexican bologna hidden under a blanket and inside the vehicle’s toolbox, according to the television station.
The driver was fined $1,000, the CBP said in its news release.
“Pork products have the potential to introduce foreign animal diseases that can be detrimental to our agriculture industry,” Ray Provencio, the CBP’s port director in El Paso, said in a statement.
Customs officials discovered the cheese shortly before 4:30 a.m. MDT, KFOX-TV reported. Officials said a 43-year-old woman, who is a U.S. citizen, was driving an SUV and applied for entry at the border.
During a secondary inspection, customs officials found the cheese hidden in several boxes beneath a blanket, according to the television station. The woman was also fined $1,000 for failure to declare the merchandise, the CBP said in its news release.
“In both these cases the travelers concealed these commodities and failed to properly declare merchandise acquired abroad to the CBP officer upon arrival and entry,” Provencio said in a statement.
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