Customs Bust Huge Stash of Exotic Insects, Reptiles at Border

We keep an eye on what the US Customs and Border Patrol are doing, especially at the southern border, because sometimes their arrests and busts affect us.

   Officials nail 'importers' with a huge stash of weird bugs, reptiles

Because of the Giant Asian Murder Hornet and occasionally other creatures, and because of our huge ag industry, we keep a close eye on this kind of stuff.

Invasive species are bad news for the PNW.

Bizarre case out of Hildago, Texas. Last Wednesday, US Customs and Border Patrol agents conducting an inspection found two very large containers inside a delivery van.

According to US Customs:

"CBP officers assigned to the Hidalgo International Bridge encountered a white ford van driven by a 31-year-old Mexican national from Reynosa, Mexico, followed by a red Ford pick-up truck driven by a 50-year-old Mexican national and passenger, a 27-year-old Mexican national man from Reynosa. The vehicles were selected for inspection where two boxes were discovered filled with labeled bags and containers. The bags and containers contained 95 reptiles and insects varying from snakes, lizards, tortoises, scorpions, and fruit fly cultures."

What the heck? The persons involved in this operation were arrested, and all of the insects and reptiles were immediately given to the US Department of Fish and Wildlife for evaluation.  Make you wonder how many other invasive species arrived here this way.

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The Giant Asian Murder Hornet likely came here, say, experts, because some of them were trapped inside international shipping containers which were offloaded in the US.

CBP officials said it was certainly one of the more unusual discoveries and busts they've made in a long time.