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

contacts for this news release

Los Angeles — U.S. Customs and Border Protection Los Angeles agriculture specialists discovered a total of 20 pests and diseases never before seen in the United States in 2008.

The majority of pests and diseases where intercepted in cut flower shipments from different parts of the world. CBP agriculture specialists collected and sent samples of the pests and plants with diseases to USDA for identification. “Agriculture specialists have a critical role in America’s agriculture. They are the first line of defense in preventing the entry of harmful pests and diseases into the United States,” said Kevin W. Weeks, director of CBP Los Angeles Field Operations.

Officials from USDA concluded the 20 pests and diseases were not native to this country and were the first time seen with those particular plants and in some instances the first time that these pests and diseases were able to be identified down to the genus or species level. CBP must remain vigilant to prevent the introduction of these pest and diseases into the United States because the magnitude of the effects could be costly. These foreign pests and diseases have damaged and destroyed greenhouses, ornamental plants, succulents, fruit trees and many other plants in other countries.

To avoid the spread and establishment of these pests and diseases in the United States the importers of the products are given a choice of fumigation, re-exportation or destruction of the contaminated shipments.

The most recent plant disease intercepted was on December 10, 2008. A CBP agriculture specialist at Los Angeles International Airport intercepted a cut flower shipment infested with a disease by the name of Didymosphaeria sp.. This disease causes the leaves of the plant to wilt with browning and eventually destroys the plant. The shipment originated from Sri Lanka and on December 17, 1,200 stems of cut flowers were destroyed under CBP supervision.

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.