This Customs and Border Protection dog wasn’t kidding.
A federal agency canine with a nose for the unusual sniffed out four mummified monkeys that a person was trying to enter the United States from Africa after landing at Logan International Airport in Boston last month, officials recently revealed.
The illegally transported “deceased and dehydrated” monkeys were discovered inside a suitcase on Jan. 9 during a preliminary inspection by a K9 named Buddy, the federal department said in a news release Friday.
Buddy alerted his handler to the specific piece of luggage that led authorities to question the passenger, who was traveling on Delta Flight 225 from Paris on his way back from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The unidentified individual claimed that it only contained dried fish. While an X-ray of the luggage appeared to show only the fish, closer inspection of the bag discovered the four dead monkeys, CBP said.
Raw or minimally processed meat from wild animals from certain places in the world, including Africa, is called bushmeat, and can cause communicable diseases, officials said.
This photo shows the mummified remains of four monkeys discovered and confiscated from luggage. AP
The dead monkeys were discovered inside a suitcase on January 9 during a preliminary inspection by a K9 named Buddy. AFP via Getty Images
“The potential dangers posed by bringing bushmeat into the United States are real,” Julio Caravia, CBP Boston area port director, said in a statement.
“Game meat can contain germs that can cause illness, including the Ebola virus. “The work of the CBP K9 unit and agricultural specialist was vital in preventing this potential danger from entering the US.”
CBP called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prompting the health agency to request that the luggage be destroyed or sent back to France.
The CDC took about four kilograms, or nearly nine pounds, of bushmeat and marked it for destruction.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn