More than 150 pounds of black market bologna seized in Texas, border agents say

A ”bunch of baloney” took on a different meaning after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists confiscated 14 rolls of Mexican bologna on Thursday morning, the department announced in a news release.

The bologna was seized because it “is a prohibited product made from pork and has the potential for introducing foreign animal diseases to the U.S. pork industry,” the department said.

Officials noticed a man driving a Chevrolet truck with a Texas license plate enter from the port of Mexico just after 9 a.m.

An officer spotted red rolls behind the back seat of the truck and asked “what he was bringing from Mexico,” and he responded “frozen rolls of turkey ham.”

Officials confiscated the 14 rolls, weighing more than 154 pounds, destroyed it and released the driver, officials said.

“It is important that travelers understand they should declare all items they are transporting from abroad to avoid fines and penalties. A properly declared prohibited item can be abandoned at the port without consequence,” CBP El Paso Port Director Beverly Good said in the release.

While anti-terrorism is the primary goal of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency assumes “the responsibility of protecting America from all threats,” the release noted.

This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 5:32 PM with the headline "More than 150 pounds of black market bologna seized in Texas, border agents say."