Nearly two-dozen giant millipedes found at San Francisco airport
By RYAN GORMAN
Customs and Border Protection agents seized nearly two-dozen giant millipedes last week at San Francisco International Airport, the agency announced.
A plastic foam box labeled "toy car model" was found in the airport's mail facility to have been transporting 20 of the foot-long creepy crawlers from Germany, according to a CBPAS press release.
Agents noticed an "anomaly" while running the package through an X-ray machine and cracked it open for further inspection.
"The agriculture specialists on duty were quick to notice the deception and took the necessary action," said Brian J. Humphrey, CBP director of Field Operations in San Francisco.
The live millipedes were found inside the box along with soil and paper, they were then handed over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for further identification.
It is not clear what the USDA will ultimately do with the millipedes.
Importing exotic animals into the U.S. is not illegal, but specific permits are needed. The package was mislabeled in an effort to get around having those permits.
Agents from the USDA-Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance task force are now handling the ongoing investigation.
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