see also: in January 2009:   CBP Officers Discover 957 Pounds of Marijuana in Concrete Pipes   CBP Canine Detects $600,000 Worth of Marijuana at Douglas Port   CBP Officers Seize $80,000 of Marijuana at Naco Port of Entry   Border Patrol Stops Vehicle, Leads to Meth Seizure   CBP Officers at Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge Seize Fake $20’s Found during Outbound Inspection   Border Patrol Agents Rescue Woman Injured in Car Accident   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Arrest Wanted Sex Offender ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers   Know Before You Go

contacts for this news release

Philadelphia – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Port of Philadelphia concluded a busy week Saturday that resulted in two seized fraudulent debit cards, about $21,000 in phony money orders, nearly 2,000 prescription pills and about 100 pounds of the narcotic khat. CBP officers also assessed $4,300 in fines helped protect the President-elect’s Whistle Stop Tour.

CBP officers seized a black pouch containing a mirror, two glass vials, a razor blade and a metal tube during a baggage examination of a traveler who arrived from Paris on January 9. The seized items are tools typical of narcotics users. A CBP canine alerted to the pouch.

CBP seized two fraudulent debit MasterCards on January 9 and January 10 that officers located during a routine international mail inspection on December 24. The parcel, which arrived from Nigeria, was labeled as "DOC." CBP attempted to validate the debit cards with Intercontinental Bank PLC, but received no response to letters sent to the bank.

CBP officers fined a traveler $500 on January 10 for repeatedly refusing to report carrying monetary instruments greater than $10,000 into the United States. Federal law does not restrict how much money travelers bring in or carry out of the country, but it does require travelers to report amounts exceeding $10,000. The traveler, who arrived from Italy, was carrying $9,635 in U.S. dollars and an equivalent of $758 U.S. dollars in Euros.

CBP officers discovered two grams of marijuana during a baggage inspection of a traveler who arrived from Italy on January 10, seized the marijuana and fined the traveler $500.

A traveler who arrived from Frankfurt, Germany on January 10 abandoned 1,516 assorted medicine pills after failing to provide CBP officers with a prescription or Food and Drug Administration approval. The pills consisted of 13 different types in various sizes and colors. CBP officers permitted the traveler to keep 50 pills for personal use.

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested a traveler on Monday on an active warrant after he arrived aboard an international flight from London. Commercial airlines are required to submit passenger manifests to CBP prior to departing a foreign nation. CBP officers matched the passenger to the active warrant and notified the Marshals Service.

CBP agriculture specialists fined a traveler who arrived from Italy on Monday $300 for failing to report prohibited agriculture products. Agriculture specialists discovered about 17 pounds of beef and pork in the traveler's suitcase.

CBP agriculture specialists fined a traveler who arrived from Jamaica $500 on Monday for failing to report about two pounds of yams.

CBP officers fined a traveler who arrived from Nigeria $1,000 on Monday for failing to report carrying more than $10,000. A currency count verified that the traveler was carrying $22,638.

CBP agriculture specialists fined Evergreen Logistics Enterprises $1,000 on Wednesday for failure to properly dispose of regulated garbage from an international flight. International garbage poses an animal disease risk to American livestock and U.S. law regulates its proper disposal. CBP held a forum in December with state and federal agriculture specialists and the international garbage handling industry to discuss animal disease risks posed by international garbage.

CBP officers seized three international airmail parcels on Wednesday that consisted of about 70 pounds of khat with an approximate street value of about $19,000. Khat is green, leafy plant harvested in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and is considered a controlled substance. It has a street value of as much as $600 per kilogram. The khat was destroyed.

CBP officers seized $21,837 in 29 fraudulent MoneyGram Money Orders on Thursday. The money orders, written for $753 each, arrived via international mail on January 10. A MoneyGram official confirmed that the money orders to be fraudulent.

A traveler who returned from Jamaica on Friday abandoned four Cuban cigars after being advised that the cigars were prohibited to bring into the U.S.

CBP agriculture specialists fined a traveler who arrived on Friday from Italy $300 for failure to declare 11 prohibited tangerines.

On Saturday, CBP officers seized 38.5 combined pounds of khat that arrived in three international mail parcels. The khat, which will be destroyed, has a street value of as much as $10,500.

CBP officers fined an international traveler $500 and seized 436 prescription pills on Saturday that the traveler reportedly purchased in Egypt. The traveler failed to present prescriptions for the medication, which included 11 different varieties.

Also on Saturday, CBP officers supported the multi-agency security detail for President-elect Barrack Obama’s Whistle Stop Tour through Philadelphia and Wilmington.

"This week has been a microcosm of the extraordinary efforts by CBP officers and agriculture specialists to enforce hundreds of anti-terrorism, trade, immigration and other laws every day," said Al Martocci, CBP port director for the Area Port of Philadelphia. "CBP employees remain vigilant in protecting the nation and our citizens against all threats."

CBP encourages all international travelers to visit its Know Before You Go Web site to better understand rules governing travel and prohibited items. ( Know Before You Go )

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.