An airline passenger was arrested this week at Boston’s Logan International Airport after attempting to illegally import four mummified monkeys from the Democratic Republic of Congo, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.
The arrest was made Thursday after a CBP K-9 unit sniffed out the monkey after the suspect’s Delta flight arrived from Paris on Thursday.
The remains are called “bushmeat,” meaning raw or minimally processed meat from wild animals, which is illegal in the United States due to the risk of disease.
Buddy, a CBP K-9 unit, smells a dead monkey at the airport. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
“The potential danger posed by bringing bushmeat into the United States is real,” CBP Boston Area Port Director Julio Caravia said in a statement. “Bushmeat can contain bacteria that can cause diseases such as the Ebola virus. The work of CBP’s K9 units and agricultural experts is critical to preventing this potential hazard from entering the United States. “It was essential to prevent this,” he added.
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The unidentified suspect initially told authorities the bag contained only dried fish.
No bodies were found during X-ray examination, but a monkey was discovered during a physical search of the suspect’s luggage.
Planes at Boston’s Logan International Airport. (Stuart Cahill/Media News Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images/File)
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According to FOX 25, the body was wrapped in a blanket and placed in a basket inside a box.
CBP said it immediately contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC asked that the bags containing the monkeys be destroyed or sent back to Paris.
CBP said the bag would be destroyed.
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CBP did not say what charges the suspects may face.
