CHICAGO — Agriculture specialists with U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted a monkey and 125 pounds of illegal meat at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago earlier this month, authorities said.

According to a Wednesday news release, CBP officers referred a passenger arriving from Cameroon to a secondary agriculture inspection. X-rays determined “an anomaly” in the passenger’s baggage, and agents discovered a monkey’s carcass inside the luggage.

Because of concerns over human health, the monkey’s remains were detained and later destroyed, the news release stated.

Agents also detained a traveler from Liberia who attempted to bring “prohibited ruminant meat” into the country. Agriculture specialists examined eight boxes in the passenger’s luggage and discovered meat, bones, and hair hidden in dried seafood.

The passenger allegedly admitted that the concealed meat was beef. Seafood is generally admissible, but ruminant meat from certain parts of the world is prohibited due to the presence of certain diseases, according to the news release.

Specialists uncovered 125 pounds of the ruminant meat from the Liberian passenger’s luggage, along with a pound of prohibited fresh leaves and four types of banned seeds.

“CBP’s agriculture specialists mitigate the threat of non-native plants and pests, plant and animal diseases, and other potentially contaminants entering the United States,” Michael Pfeiffer, Chicago Field Office’s Acting Director of Field Operations, said in a statement. “The sheer volume of prohibited items our specialists intercept daily demonstrates how they play an essential and critical role in preventing plant and animal diseases from entering the United States.”

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