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MILITARY

Border authorities find invasive beetles in bag of seeds

Associated Press
Published | Updated

ROMULUS, Mich. – A woman traveling from Iraq to a Detroit-area airport was found to be carrying seeds infested with an invasive beetle.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says in a release Thursday that agriculture specialists discovered the Khapra beetles Nov. 23 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus. They were in a bag of seeds the woman planned to sow in her garden.

The Khapra beetle is considered one of the world's most destructive pests for stored grains, cereals and seeds.

A Customs and Border Protection spokesman says the woman who lives in Michigan "did not intentionally bring pests with her" and is not facing charges.

Khapra beetles were found in January at Washington Dulles International Airport in rice brought from Saudi Arabia and in February at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in cow peas brought from Nigeria.