Elderly Woman Caught at Customs
The other day I saw something on the news I decided to share with you -
Pa Lor, an elderly woman from Laos, had just gotten off a 20-plus hour Northwest flight from Vietienne. She had an oxygen tank in her bag being pumped into her nose. She could barely walk. She was probably one of the last to get off the plane, wheel-chaired through passport control and finally assisted with her luggage.
rOccasionally, I have been stopped by customs agents and directed to go through to the "green line" - agriculture - some of the things people try bringing into the country...I can only imagine.
So here is Pa Lor, being wheel-chaired with a luggage porter in tow, in line with a hundred or so other travelers. She is at the final point before leaving the custom area to her family who must be anxiously awaiting her.
She approaches the customs officer, looks at her card, and then looks at Pa Lor. An elderly woman in her 80s, hardly someone of interest. Karma? The Universe? No one knows for sure, but instead of letting her go, he sends her on a short detour to U.S. Agriculture..."follow the green line" which is clearly marked on the floor.
I can't imagine what was going through her mind as they were putting her luggage through the machines because what happened next shocked, well, the world.
"A ghoulish collection" of more than a thousand claws, teeth, and skins of many endangered species including primates. One elephant tooth was about ten pounds.
An investigation traced the elderly lady to a kiosk at a small market in Minneapolis where they found similar skins being sold for thousands of dollars.
I didn't know this but smuggling endangered species is the third-largest black crime in the world.
Posted by George Zaharoff at 9 November 2009, 8:53 PM 
Categories: My Thoughts
Tags: endangered lor primates agriculture pa species us smuggling
Categories: My Thoughts
Tags: endangered lor primates agriculture pa species us smuggling
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