US Customs seized and destroyed 194 pounds of illegal bologna smuggled in at the Mexico border

• A man crossing the US-Mexico border attempted to smuggle in nearly 200 pounds of bologna.
• CBP agents discovered the lunch meat in both the trunk of the car and in a suitcase.
• The meat was seized and destroyed and the smuggler was fined $500.

He had the meats.

US Customs and Border Control agents working in New Mexico seized nearly 200 pounds - 22 rolls - of bologna being smuggled into the country from Mexico.

Agents discovered the contraband meat in a 2019 Nissan Rogue crossing the border at Columbus, New Mexico. Rolls of bologna were discovered both in the trunk of the car and in the man's luggage.

The CBP destroyed the bologna and fined the driver $500.

This is far from the first time border agents have discovered contraband meat being smuggled across the border, and already this year there have been several interceptions. On January 7, agents seized 20 pounds of undeclared pork and 30 containers of edible bird's nests from a passenger arriving on a flight from China. A day later, a man from Kosovo attempted to smuggle in a suitcase filled with 88 pounds of swine meat, claiming it was "homemade sausages."

Last year, smugglers attempted to bring in nearly 20,000 pounds of contraband meat from China. The meat was hidden with a shipment of electronics and home goods.

CBP agents stressed that importing undeclared meats and cheeses could potentially bring foreign animal diseases and contagions - such as swine fever or foot-and-mouth disease -into the country.