🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
While most people think of Border Patrol agents stopping the smuggling of illegal drugs, another type of contraband has recently been blocked at the U.S.-Mexico border: Nearly 250 pounds of pork bologna.
The massive quantities of bologna were discovered in two separate January incidents at border crossings in El Paso, Texas. However, it does not appear that the two instances of smuggling were related.
The first discovery occurred on January 13, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) press release. During this encounter at the Paso Del Norte border crossing, a 40-year-old Albuquerque, New Mexico, man was referred for a "secondary agriculture inspection" after stating that he was not bringing any food products into the United States.
It was during this secondary search, CBP stated, that Border Patrol agents discovered "five rolls of Mexican bologna hidden under bags of chips, the trunk compartment and under the seats of the SUV." The man was found to be smuggling a total of 55 pounds of meat into the U.S., apparently to resell the bologna for double the price.
The second stash of bologna was found eight days later at the Ysleta border crossing, being smuggled by a 40-year-old woman—this time a resident of Pueblo West, Colorado. Once again, the woman was referred for a secondary inspection after declaring she was not bringing food into the country, CBP said.
After finding an initial roll of Mexican bologna hidden in the woman's vehicle, this search ultimately uncovered 19 rolls of bologna weighing 188 pounds. CBP stated that the meat was found hidden in nooks throughout the vehicle, including "under the rear back seat, inside duvet cover liners, and comingled with luggage."
During both incidents, the smugglers were issued a $1,000 fine from CBP for "failure to declare commercial quantities of bologna." It is unclear at this time if any further criminal penalties will be handed down.
All of the bologna was seized and destroyed per regulations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
"Pork products have the potential to introduce foreign animal diseases that can have devastating effects to the U.S. economy and to our agriculture industry," said Hector A. Mancha, CBP's Director of Field Operations. "We ask travelers to declare any items acquired abroad so we can prevent the introduction of potentially harmful products."
While the story may sound like an unusual happening, reports show that food being smuggled into the U.S. is a fairly regular occurrence, with imports from Mexico being one of the largest culprits.
A publication from the USDA states that "banned agricultural goods can carry diseases, pathogens, foreign organisms, or contaminants that threaten the health of humans, animals, and plants; the environment; and the trade status of U.S. exports."
"Incidents of detected smuggling are more prevalent with goods shipped from Mexico (wildlife) and China (agricultural)," the report continued. "Agricultural and wildlife imports...can introduce invasive species or disease-carrying pathogens and thus pose unique risks to the domestic environment and the agricultural economy."
"No comparable estimate of the size of agricultural smuggling is available, but its consequences are acknowledged to be significant due to the large potential risk posed by very small amounts of biological material that may enter a country with the smuggled goods."
Newsweek has reached out to the USDA for comment.
