Drugs not only things seized at U.S. border

BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz., have more than just drug smuggling and people trying to enter the country illegally to prevent.

According to Port Director Michael Freeman, the majority of the seizures conducted and fines issued by agents are the result of individuals trying to bring prohibited food and agricultural products back into the country from Mexico.

"If the person has declared what they have, we will just seize the product if it's forbidden and they won't be penalized," Freeman said. "But if they don't declare it, we will seize the product and fine them for failure to declare on the spot."

The most unusual case of someone trying to bring a prohibited item across the border in recent memory happened on July 2, Freeman said, when custom agents discovered a Gila monster in a backpack that was lying on the back seat of a car being driven through the port.