What’s the most important item that you could possibly carry in your suitcase on an international trip, in addition to all relevant documents as well as the passport? Probably, clothes, shoes, shaving kit, money, TCs and some things like that, right? If you are a woman passenger, then surely you’d have some make up items and accessories of gloss and style- isn’t it? What’s the worst item in your list when say traveling to a place like the United States of America, for instance?
Would you be stupid enough to carry an item that poses an imminent risk at a certain country? What benefit would that serve?
For instance, would you care to suit up a bag full of cowdung cakes? Read that again! Would you care to pack a bag full of cowdung cakes in a bag where you’d much rather pack clothes and other items of everyday usage?
Well, if you happen to be a highly careless or let’s say misinformed Indian passenger traveling aboard the United States, then you could carry cowdung cakes. For this is truly what happened recently at an airport in the nearabouts of the Washington DC area.
Probably, there are crazy passengers and then there are some who happily prevail in their own make belief world where little is reserved for following a bunch of rules that dictate a strict no-no toward carrying certain items.
And it’s only fair to say that this particular Indian traveler was in his own world where he packed a bag full of items that are a strict no-no where it comes to entering the United States of America.
As expected, the US Customs and Border Protection agents were shocked in living daylights to see what this certain Indian passenger had in his suitcase.
Put aside the natural odur or the several organic benefits that a thing like Cowdung cakes can offer, you just can’t break the US policy on carrying items that are quite simply debarred.
But all of that said, there has to be a specific reason as to why bringing cowdung cakes in the US is against the country’s policy. To that end, it’s important to note that since this particular item, found in plenty in India’s hinterland, can be a potential carrier of the Foot and Mouth Disease- clearly a great nadir in America, the item is banned.
And that’s exactly where the uninformed Indian traveler missed out on the knowledge.
Soon as the US Customs and Border Protection, also known as the CBP found the undesirable item, it was destroyed and rightly so as one might put it.
In an official media statement pertaining to the incident, the following information came to light, “That is not a typo. CBP agriculture specialists found two cow dung cakes in a suitcase that was left behind after passengers from an Air India flight cleared CBP’s inspection station on April 4.”
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Moreover, here is what the Acting Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office had to add on the incident, “Foot and Mouth Disease is one of the animal diseases that livestock owners dread most, has grave economic consequences, and it is a critical threat focus of Customs and Border Protection’s agriculture protection mission.”
Probably wise to be informed beforehand the next time around, ha?