Smuggled meat shipments from China to Los Angeles doubled in pandemic year

Foto:
JOE KLAMAR / Getty Images

–

The number of shipments of prohibited meat products Of beef, pork, chicken and duck that were intercepted in Los Angeles from China in 2020 was almost double that detected in 2019, authorities said.

From January 1 to December 31 of last year, federal agents in Los Angeles launched 1,049 emergency notifications, compared to 527 the previous yearsaid Jaime Ruiz of the Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP).

“China is a country affected by African swine fever, and classical swine fever; in addition to Newcastle disease [que afecta a las aves], highly pathogenic avian influenza and swine vesicular disease ”, he indicated in a release.

The latter is an infectious-contagious disease of pigs characterized by pockets of fluid that appear on the animal’s hooves, tongue, and snout.

Agriculture specialists found these meat products, which were not declared to authorities, mixed with other shipments that contained boxes of hearing aids and door locks; in addition to other packages that carried kitchen utensils, boxes of LCD tablets, garbage bags, swim fins and cell phone protectors.

“A clear attempt to smuggle these prohibited meats,” Ruiz said.

“CBP continues to work closely with other governments and private partners to protect the nation from a variety of threats, including those having to do with plant pests, biological agents, and foreign animal diseases that arrive in the country by air, land or sea, ”said Carlos C. Martel, director of operations for CBP Los Angeles.

“The role of our CBP agriculture specialists, who are at our ports of entry, is more crucial today than ever.”

Read more: Hispanic is arrested for injecting fake Botox in LA hotel

Chinese animal products are in high demand in some communities in the United States. As a result, smugglers try to smuggle those items, which then end up being sold in Asian supermarket stores, authorities said.

They added that many consumers are not aware of the restrictions that exist on the importation of certain products.

What worries the authorities is that pork that has been affected by swine fever in other countries could bring the virus to the United States, which could paralyze the pork industry and the exports of this product, which generate $ 6.5 billion dollars each year.

READ MORE:

Smuggling XXX: They tried to pass cocaine on a fake penis

– .