Thousands of caterpillars seized at London airport
LONDON (AP) — British customs agents made a creepy discovery when an airline passenger was found with 207 pounds of caterpillars in his luggage.
The man claimed they were intended as food for personal consumption.
The U.K. Border Force said Friday that inspectors at London's Gatwick Airport found the dried caterpillars shrink-wrapped in cellophane and packed into hessian bags carried by a passenger travelling from Burkina Faso via Istanbul.
The caterpillars were seized by authorities after the Feb. 23 find because they breached restrictions on importing animal products. The 22-year-old passenger was let off with a warning.
Border Force spokeswoman Ingrid Smith said "the vigilance of our officers has stopped these dried insects from entering the U.K., and possibly posing a risk to our food chain."
The man claimed they were intended as food for personal consumption.
The U.K. Border Force said Friday that inspectors at London's Gatwick Airport found the dried caterpillars shrink-wrapped in cellophane and packed into hessian bags carried by a passenger travelling from Burkina Faso via Istanbul.
The caterpillars were seized by authorities after the Feb. 23 find because they breached restrictions on importing animal products. The 22-year-old passenger was let off with a warning.
Border Force spokeswoman Ingrid Smith said "the vigilance of our officers has stopped these dried insects from entering the U.K., and possibly posing a risk to our food chain."
Laced with cocaine..
"Border Force spokeswoman Ingrid Smith said "the vigilance of our officers has stopped these dried insects from entering the U.K., and possibly posing a risk to our food chain.""
How are these dead, dried insects that this guy was going to eat (and probably give out to family and friends as a reminder of back home) going to pose a risk to anybody's food chain?
@Table9 Exactly!
Should have made him eat them all onsite.
Yuck!!!!!!
Jeez, how much luggage did he have?? 4 big bags of caterpillars?
Looks like mopane worms......tasty and nutritious.....a staple food in south africa...
Another case of mad caterpillar disease narrowly averted.
YUCK! Why would anyone want to eat those?
@Tattooed_Angel2Â Â Because they're hungry.
@komoispropaganda If they can afford a plane ticket then they can afford real food!
@Tattooed_Angel2 That IS real food to a lot of people around the world. And it's even starting to take off here in the States.
@Tattooed_Angel2Â
I hate this editing software. Here's a link to all kinds of tasty critters.
https://edibug.wordpress.com/list-of-edible-insects/
@Tattooed_Angel2A lot of people eat bugs. I used to get a little bag of 'Bon Daegi' [adult silk worms] when I was in Korea. They were crunchy and had a nutty taste.Â
@Tattooed_Angel2
Probably better tasting & better for you than McDonald's!
@Fooey Patooey! or, horsemeat.
@T_BONE_WALKER Horse meat is actually pretty tasty and healthy, as it is a much leaner meat than cow. Our own country has a history of horse meat being eaten regularly as well as other nations. In some parts of the US, horse is still on the menu from what I hear.Â
@Robinsnest @T_BONE_WALKER If you saw the bony starving animals they butcher they might not be so appealing.