A woman traveling from Iraq to a Detroit-area airport was found to be carrying seeds infested with an invasive beetle.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says in a release Thursday that agriculture specialists discovered the Khapra beetles November 23 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus. They were in a bag of seeds the woman planned to sow in her garden.
The Khapra beetle is considered one of the world’s most destructive pests for stored grains, cereals and seeds.
The Associated Press sent an email Thursday to border officials asking if the woman was fined or charged.
Khapra beetles were found in January at Washington Dulles International Airport in rice brought from Saudi Arabia and in February at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in cow peas brought from Nigeria.