see also: in May 2008:   Deputy Chief of the Border Patrol Announces State of the Agency   CBP Celebrates Significant Occasions at Advanced Training Center in West Virginia   CBP to Issue New Frequent Traveler Cards   Ecstasy and Methamphetamine Seized at Ambassador Bridge   CBP Races to Secure NASCAR’s Monster Mile   CBP Air and Marine Agents Interdict Migrants in Florida at the Start of Memorial Day Weekend   Border Patrol Agents Rescue 51 Illegal Aliens from Tractor Trailer ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Los Angeles — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists are meticulously inspecting millions of imported cut flowers to ensure they are pest free. Mother’s Day is one of the busiest holidays for CBP agriculture specialists who are trained to intercept insects, pests and diseases that could harm the agricultural and floral industries of the United States.

On April 27, while conducting an examination of a fresh cut flower shipment from Costa Rica, a CBP agriculture specialist at LAX identified a fungus disease, which had never been seen in the United States. If not intercepted, this fungus could have spread in the United States costing millions of dollars to eradicate. The importer was given the option of exporting or destruction, the importer opted for destruction.

In 2007, CBP agriculture specialists at Los Angeles International Airport inspected more than 168 million stems of imported flowers and intercepted over 2,800 pests. Los Angeles International Airport ranked second in the nation among U.S. international airports that receive the highest volume of imported flowers during the week prior to Mother’s Day in 2007. The top imported flowers during this week were roses, dianthus, chrysanthemums, alstroemeria, tulips and chamaedorea.

On a typical day in fiscal year 2007, CBP seized 4,296 prohibited meat or plant materials, including 164 agricultural pests at ports of entry.

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.