Border agents make bologna bust at NM crossing

[May 18, 2011]  SANTA TERESA, N.M. (AP) -- It wasn't drugs or human trafficking but illegal bologna that caught the attention of border agents at a New Mexico port of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Santa Teresa seized 385 pounds of the Mexican contraband meat from behind the seat of a pickup that stopped at the port on Friday.

It's illegal to bring the bologna across the border because it's made of pork and has the potential to introduce foreign animal diseases into the U.S. pork industry.

The 33-year-old Mexican man who was transporting the meat was assessed a $1,000 fine and released.

Usually officers see one or two rolls of bologna -- not 35 as in this case. Officials say it was the largest bologna bust ever recorded at the Santa Teresa crossing.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.