In an effort to intercept and thwart one of the world’s most destructive grain pests, Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Protection and Quarantine office, and the Texas and Oklahoma departments of agriculture recently joined forces to address a significant threat to America’s agriculture industry and to the American consumer.

During the past year, CBP has seen an increase in interceptions of a small insect, the Khapra Beetle, during inspections of passengers and cargo shipments entering the United States in the State of Texas. These interceptions have been made in passenger baggage, personal effects shipments and in commercial cargo shipments.

The 3-millimeter, highly destructive plant pest has been captured by CBP on more than a dozen separate occasions in Dallas and Houston during the past 12 months. The Khapra Beetle, or Trogoderma granarium E., is a highly destructive plant pest to grains, stored food products, leather and even natural fibers.

In order to enhance CBP’s detection capabilities and to mitigate the risk associated with exotic/harmful pests and diseases, it is essential for CBP to work in partnership with our other federal and state agriculture stakeholders. In May the multi-agency team was formed in the states of Oklahoma and Texas to address the threat, through targeted, risk-based inspections and increased biological surveillance. The cooperative effort was dubbed “Operation Magic Kharpet,” a play on words due to the fact that the Khapra Beetle is commonly known as a “carpet beetle.”

“It is critical for Customs and Border Protection to work with our state and federal agriculture partners to protect the American consumers, farmers and agriculture industry in general,” said Jeffrey O. Baldwin Sr., director of office of field operations with CBP in Houston. “Responding to this new threat provided an opportunity for CBP, PPQ and the Oklahoma and Texas departments of agriculture to work together and improve our quarantine systems.”

Oklahoma and Texas have favorable environmental conditions for the Khapra Beetle to thrive and reproduce. In order to mitigate the potential for severe economical impact that the Khapra Beetle could create in stored grains, milled products, animal by-products, beans, nuts and other host articles grown in Texas and Oklahoma, it was imperative for PPQ and CBP to conduct a thorough risk and vulnerability assessment with the assistance of the Texas and Oklahoma State Departments of Agriculture.

As a result of Operation Magic Kharpet, the overall quarantine program within Texas and Oklahoma, but we also have established a model for cooperation and communication for addressing new agricultural threats to the United States.