A Peruvian citizen attempting to enter the United States at a Texas airport was stopped by customs officers earlier this month after they found a “farmer’s market” worth of produce inside the passenger’s suitcases.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport found 25 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables packed inside luggage that the traveler had attempted to bring into the U.S. on May 16 following a recent trip to South America.
The colorful discovery included ghost and bell peppers, purple corn, dry potatoes, and fresh mangoes — all of which are not allowed to be carried by travelers into the U.S. because of the risk the living items pose to agricultural crops and health, according to a Department of Agriculture list.
The unnamed traveler declared the prohibited items before officers opened up the suitcases. The law enforcement agency said it quarantined and destroyed all of the produce to prevent any potentially harmful insects hiding inside from getting into the country. On an average day, officers catch 319 pests and quarantine 4,552 materials at air, land, and sea ports of entry.
“The introduction of harmful pests to our nation’s agriculture industry could be potentially devastating,” O’Ruill McCanlas, CBP acting area port director at the Port of Dallas, said in a statement.
Yolanda Choates, the agency spokeswoman for Texas and Arkansas, told the Washington Examiner in a phone call Thursday these types of findings are “not unusual.”
“Sometimes, when people are visiting, they want to bring stuff from home. This person was from Peru, and he wanted to bring a taste of home to the U.S.,” Choates said.
The passenger was not punished because he admitted to carrying the produce before authorities found it.
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