Border officials made a creepy discovery in a man's luggage at a major UK airport. The Border Force found tens of thousands on dried caterpillars in a suitcase.
A 22-year-old from who traveled from Burkina Faso via Istanbul made a stop at Gatwick Airport, where Border officials made the gross find.
"When officers checked his luggage they discovered the 94kg (207lb) of dried insects shrink-wrapped in cellophane, which had been packed into four hessian bags," a Border Force spokesperson told the Belfast Telegraph.
The man said the caterpillars were a food source.
"The man claimed that they were for personal consumption and that they were to be used as food," the spokesman said.
The caterpillars are a breach of the laws on importing animals, so they were seized. Other items that are restricted include to products made from meat, dairy, fish, eggs and honey, as well as some fruit, vegetables and plants.
"Following the detection, which took place on 23 February, the man was warned by officers about the restrictions on bringing dried insects into the country," the spokesman added. "The insects will be destroyed."
"This was an unusual seizure but the vigilance of our officers has stopped these dried insects from entering the UK, and possibly posing a risk to our food chain," Ingrid Smith, from Border Force told the Telegraph.
"I would warn travelers not to attempt to bring any products of animal origin into the UK without a permit, as they may not have been inspected to appropriate standards and may contain diseases," she added.
This isn't the first time thousands of caterpillars were discovered in someone's luggage. In September, an African traveler was caught at Switzerland's EuroAirport with 33 pounds of dead caterpillars in his luggage. When security threatened to take the bugs away, the man started eating them. He also said that they were a food source, but the security officials confiscated them.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
