Kate Linderman | (TNS) The Charlotte Observer
A 43-year-old woman crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas told officers that she had cooked meat in her vehicle.
As agriculture specialists at the Presidio port looked further, they found several heavy suitcases containing 40 rolls, weighing in at 748 pounds, of bologna in her SUV.
But the rolls were not the type of bologna that can be bought at a deli counter in the U.S., rather it was an illegal meat that posed a threat to the U.S. pork industry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a Sept. 25 news release.
“Mexican bologna is a prohibited product because it is made from pork and has the potential for introducing foreign animal diseases,” CBP said.
Officials said they seized the illegal meat and destroyed it.
Officers continued to look through her vehicle and found hundreds of boxes of prescription drugs hidden within the SUV’s panels, which the woman had not declared, according to the release.
The 280 boxes of medication contained Tramadol, a schedule IV controlled substance, Fentermina, Alprazolam, Clonazapam, Diazapam, Farmapram, Ampigran, Sulfamethoxazole and other medications, officials said.
Additionally, officers said they seized $7,600 in cash also found in the woman’s SUV.
The U.S. citizen was issued a $1,000 civil penalty, according to the release.
“Even if they believe an item is allowed travelers should still declare all items they are transporting to the U.S. to avoid fines and penalties,” CBP Presidio Port Director Benito Reyes, Jr. said in a news release.
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