A taste for forbidden foreign fruit can be costly, as one person arriving in Laredo, Texas, from Mexico found out this week. US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Officers discovered the traveler was trying to smuggle a huge haul of Mexican fruit into the country, consisting of:
65 kilos of Mangos
45 kilos of Plums
3.2 kilos of Guamúchil Fruit
6 live plants
That resulted in a whopping $1,000 fine being assessed on the spot.
(And, if you are wondering what Guamúchil Fruit is, know that it is a seed pod containing tart & tangy pulp of a tree that grows in a majority of Mexican states.)
You should also know that Guamúchil, like almost all fresh, raw fruits and vegetables, cannot be brought into the USA from Mexico. They are strictly prohibited at US ports of entry to prevent the spread of invasive pests and agricultural diseases.
All travelers entering the United States are required to declare meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, soil, animals, as well as plant and animal products (including soup or soup products) they may be carrying. The declaration must cover all items carried in checked baggage, carry-on luggage, or in a vehicle.
Those who try to circumvent this policy must run the gauntlet posed by the CBP’s beagle brigade (and the beagles are VERY good at their jobs). Take the photo of CBP K9 “Ears” below, who sniffed out yet more forbidden fruit arriving from Mexico earlier this month, this time at the International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The dog alerted CBP Officers to check the luggage of a passenger arriving from Mexico City. When they did, they found undeclared pork, nance, cacti, and wood, resulting in a $300 fine against another traveler.
In Chicago, CBP K9 “Thena” (shown below) alerted to another piece of luggage arriving from Mexico.
When CBP officers looked inside, they found undeclared madras thorn, passion fruit, mamey, plums, mangoes, coriander, & pork ham sandwiches.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, it was K9 “Oliver” (pictured below) that tripped up a traveler attempting to smuggle undeclared raw fruit from Guatemala into the US.
Inside the arriving passenger’s luggage, CBP officers found raw, undeclared Guatemalan mangoes and mombins.
Would-be smugglers of forbidden food have more than just the CBP’s capable K9’s to contend with. On May 9, 2026, a technician x-raying luggage from International flights arriving at Chicago O’Hare summoned CBP Officers after spotting something that definitely didn’t belong in a suitcase: bones!
Inside the luggage arriving from Amsterdam, CBP officers were surprised to find almost 3 kilos of African “bushmeat,” which consisted of grasscutter (a large rodent) & fish.
The passenger, it turns out, originally checked the luggage in Ghana before connecting in Amsterdam and flying on to Atlanta. It also turns out this passenger actually declared what was inside the luggage (not realizing it was prohibited).
The bushmeat was seized and destroyed. The arriving passenger was sent on his way.
Are you surprised by the forbidden food some travelers attempt to bring into the US?
Share your thoughts in the comments to this story!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
