An "illegal tamale" bust resulted in a $1,000 fine for a traveler earlier this month after customs officials discovered 450 pork tamales inside luggage at Los Angeles International Airport.
Travelers are not permitted to transport pork into the country, according to customs regulations.
"Although tamales are a popular holiday tradition, foreign meat products can carry serious animal diseases,"
Anne Maricich, U.S. Customs and Border Protection acting director in Los Angeles, told The Associated Press.
Although the traveler — who had come from Mexico — admitted on customs forms to carrying food, he or she lied when asked if the food contained meat, according to the AP. CBP agents found the tamales individually packaged in the traveler's luggage.
The traveler had to pay a $1,000 civil penalty for "commercial activity with the
intent to distribute," a CBP press release said.
"Agricultural pests and diseases are a threat to U.S. crop production and to the
livestock industry," according to the CBP website. "Some animal diseases can be highly contagious and could cause severe economic damage to livestock and result in losses in production, which could lead to increased costs for meat and dairy products."
"During fiscal year 2014, CBP agriculture specialists nationwide issued 75,330 civil violations and intercepted 1,623,294 animal by-product, meat and plant/soil quarantine products," the CBP reported.
Tamales are a beloved part of many family holiday celebrations, and some people who heard about the illegal tamale bust posted their anguish online, while others couldn't believe pork tamales aren't allowed in the country:
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