Raw goat viscera seized at Chicago airport, found in bags of passengers returning to U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialists at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport were faced with an unlikely situation after they discovered 15 pounds of raw goat viscera in the baggage of two passengers.

The incident happened on last Tuesday Oct. 10th.

The agency, in a news release, said that two passengers, who were arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, were referred to agriculture secondary for inspection.

"CBPAS inspected their baggage and found one pound of unknown meat, 2 pounds of garden eggs, and 15 pounds of raw goat viscera including the trachea, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and entire digestive system," said the news release.

A photo provided by the agency shows the internal organs of the goat as an officer holds up the body parts.

"An eviscerated goat is certainly outside of the normal items they [CBPAS] stop," said the new release about the items.

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'Real dangers'

The news release said that agriculture specialists seized the prohibited items and destroyed them to prevent livestock diseases and plant pests from entering the country.

“There are real dangers these items can have if they are introduced in the U.S. economy,” said CBP Director LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke with the Field Operations-Chicago Field Office.

She urged all passengers, whether entering or returning to the U.S., to be truthful about their baggage and declare all items they are bringing.

"If one prohibited item enters the U.S. it could have dangerous ecological or economical results," emphasized Sutton-Burke.

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Giraffe poop seized

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that a passenger was caught carrying something unusual in their luggage.

Earlier this month on October 6, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Minnesota seized a shipment containing a small box of giraffe poop that was being transported by a passenger returning home from Africa.

Officials with the federal agency working at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis reported a passenger returning from Kenya arrived at the airport on Sept. 29 and was chosen for inspection by border patrol agriculture specialists.

"The passenger declared giraffe feces and stated she had obtained the droppings in Kenya and planned to make a necklace," according to a press release from the federal regulator.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @saman_shafiq7.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Raw goat organs discovered in luggage at Chicago airport