see also: in February 2006 News Releases:   CBP Border Patrol Rescues 14 More Illegal Aliens   CBP Border Patrol Agents Seize 1,321 Pounds Of Marijuana   CBP Air and Border Patrol Agents Rescue Five People in Desert   Truck Manifest Certifications Triple in One Week   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Seizes Textile and Wearing Apparel in Buffalo   CBP Border Patrol Agent Rescues Mexican National ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Falcon Dam, Texas –Nearly eight months after shutting down an attempt to smuggle rare white tiger cubs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers at the Falcon Dam International Bridge last night stopped the illegal export of exotic animals native to the Australian continent; wallabies.

CBP Officers conducting outbound examinations at Falcon Dam International Bridge on Feb. 20, 2006 referred a Mexico-bound 2002 Chevy 2500 pickup truck for a secondary examination. During the examination, CBP Officer noticed a large wooden crate dotted with small holes, (a pet porter) in the pickup bed. Upon closer examination, CBP Officers discovered two wallabies inside the pet porter. The wallabies were estimated to be one year-olds, measured 28 to 30 inches high and weighed about six to eight pounds each.

Wallabies are considered endangered animals and are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Legal export of such an animal requires a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The driver did not have any U.S. Fish and Widlife Service export permit. CBP Officers detained the wallabies and turned them over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. No initial arrests were made, but an investigation by U.S. Fish and Wildlfe Service Special Agents remains ongoing.

“Our Officers are to be commended for staying vigilant and stopping this unlicensed export of endangered wallabies at Falcon Dam,” said Cris Cantu, CBP Port Director, Roma. “This is the second attempted illegal export of exotic species in less than a year that our officers at Falcon Dam have stopped.”

CBP Officers conducting outbound examinations at Falcon Dam on June 15, 2005 stopped the attempted export of two white tiger cubs placed in a kennel in the backseat of a Dodge pickup truck. The endangered white tiger cubs had a domestic value of $50,000 each.

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