Mummified monkeys seized from airport luggage by Boston customs officials

The remains of four monkeys were seized from luggage arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo at Boston Logan Airport. Photo / US Customs and Border Protection

Of the oddities sniffed out by CBP dogs at Boston Logan International Airport, “mummified monkeys” have to be at the top of the tree.

The unusual animal remains were detected in the luggage of a passenger returning from sub-Saharan Africa via Europe.

The passenger arriving on Delta flight 225 from Paris Charles de Gualle had been travelling from the Democratic Republic of Congo on January 8.

When the passenger’s checked luggage excited dogs from the K9 dogs unit, they claimed that their luggage contained dried fish.

An X-ray of the bag discovered something more disturbing in the mystery meat.

Inspection at Boston Logan Airport revealed dead and dehydrated bodies of four monkeys, agents said in a press release this weekend.

The traveller said he brought the monkeys back to the US as food for his own consumption, Ryan Bissette, a CPB spokesperson, said on Sunday.

Raw or minimally processed meat from wild animals, which is sometimes referred to as “bushmeat,” is banned in the US because of the threat of disease.

“The potential dangers posed by bringing bushmeat into the United States are real. Bushmeat can carry germs that can cause illness, including the Ebola virus,” said Julio Caravia, Boston’s local port director for Customs and Border Protection.

Bissette said Sunday that no charges were filed but all of the luggage was seized and the nearly four kilograms of bushmeat were marked for destruction by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CSD).

Bushmeat is a common form of preserved, dried protein in much of West and Central Africa with cane rats and antelope being common sources for the delicacy. The CPB statement said they had encountered bats, and various primates being brought into the country, but the dehydrated monkey meat, including skulls and skeletal remains, had alarmed CBP officers operating the X-ray.

CPB issues permits to import biological specimens or game trophies only with the correct paperwork.

Most packaged and prepared foods are accepted according to the CPB’s website However “bushmeat made from African wildlife and almost anything containing meat products, such as bouillon, soup mixes, etc, is not admissible.”

- with Associated Press