CBP Beagle At LAX Sniffs Out 99 Pounds Of Thai Meat And Endangered Lizard Parts

A Customs and Border Protection beagle at LAX found 99 pounds of prohibited Thai meat, produce and wildlife including 16 pounds of an endangered Bengal monitor’s parts.

The agriculture detection beagle named Maisy alerted to passenger baggage that originated in Thailand. Officers searched the bag and reported finding:

• 50 pounds of meat, including raw meat
• 33 pounds of mangoes, garlic, bamboo and banana plants
• Approximately 16 pounds of Bengal monitor lizard parts

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took custody of the monitor remains, while CBP handled the agricultural products. CBP publicized the seizure on Facebook on July 20, posting a photograph of Maisy behind the haul and asking, “If you discovered all this in a suitcase, wouldn’t you be this happy?”

There’s also this:

Several headlines on the story got important details wrong. It wasn’t “LA cops” it was a federal border inspection. It was also not a live 16-pound lizard. It was “16 pounds of Bengal monitor lizard parts.” (CBP’s Facebook said “approximately 16 pounds of Bengal monitor lizard” rather than specifying “parts” and several outlets ran with that.)

A Thai report examining the photograph described some of the meat as moo yor-style pork sausage and hot dogs, along with bamboo shoots and banana flowers. It also speculated that unidentified leaves might be kratom.

Oddly, several reports say that the 99 pounds of contraband were in a single suitcase which seems like quite the overweight bag. It seems more likely to me this is a garbled version of ‘the traveler’s luggage’.

Bengal monitors have been listed as endangered since 1976 with the highest protection category. International movement ordinarily requires permits from both the exporting and importing countries and is allowed only in rare noncommercial circumstances. This was non-commercial!

For ordinary undeclared, noncommercial agricultural products, a first time civil penalty can reach $1,000. A traveler who properly declares a prohibited noncommercial item can generally surrender it and continue without a failure-to-declare penalty. Importing an endangered species without authorization is prohibited by the Endangered Species Act. A knowing criminal violation can carry up to one year in prison and a $50,000 fine.