Both U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) periodically publish some of the most out-there things travelers have tried to sneak through an airport. 

This has been everything from drugs sewn inside the carcass of a raw chicken that someone tried to bring onto a domestic flight to several pounds of dried giraffe excrement that customs officers seized from a woman coming into Minneapolis on a flight from Kenya. Some of the more common items seized at customs include counterfeit goods purchased for resale in the U.S. and food products that need to be properly declared due to their potential to bring new pathogens into the country.

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Meant both to promote their officers’ work and remind travelers of what they can and cannot bring on their travels, the latest CBP announcement disclosed that one of its trained dogs discovered the remains of mummified monkeys in one passenger’s luggage.

‘…the officer identified the dead and dehydrated bodies of four monkeys…’

“When questioned about the bag, the passenger declared that it only held dried fish. The luggage was x-rayed and appeared to hold dried fish,” the agency said in a statement. “Still, upon physical inspection, the officer identified the dead and dehydrated bodies of four monkeys.”

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The traveler had come in on a Delta Air Lines  (DAL)  flight from Paris Charles De Gaulle to Boston Logan International Airport on Jan. 8. France had been stopover on an earlier flight from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The traveler was, according to CBP, flagged by a CBP Canine dog named Buddey. The traveler was pulled aside for a preliminary inspection and, after a more through one unveiled the mummified animal remains, said that it was bushmeat — this is the common term used for animal remains that are a common source of food in some parts of Africa.

CDC says ‘the potential dangers’ of bringing in this type of product ‘are real’

Approximately eight pounds of the mummified remains were seized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and marked for destruction at the airport.

While some countries have looser and stricter rules about what can be brought in from abroad (due to their isolation from the rest of the world, Australia and New Zealand are known for being particularly strict in this regard), undeclared meat and other animal products are not allowed by almost every nation in the world due to their potential to spread disease.

Many of the most dangerous human diseases in recent years, including the Covid-19 pandemic, began by improper handling of animals and later spread by travelers moving across borders. 

While all products brought in for sale in the U.S. go through proper screening processes, travelers often attempt to smuggle products in their luggage illegally.

“The potential dangers posed by bringing bushmeat into the United States are real,” Julio Caravia, the area port director for CBP Boston, said in a statement. “Bushmeat can carry germs that can cause illness, including the Ebola virus.”

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