Skulls, live moss bathmats among restricted items seized at O'Hare, CBP officials say

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Friday, April 8, 2022
Skulls, live moss bathmats seized by customs officials at O'Hare
Skulls, live moss bathmats seized by customs officials at O'HareU.S. Customs officials said canine Hitch helped find three live moss bathmats shipped from Poland and six skulls from the Netherlands.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A canine named Hitch is helping authorities find restricted items at O'Hare International Airport.

Hitch helps agriculture specialists with U.S. Customs and Border Protection detect shipments containing items that can harm the environment and introduce disease and insects to the U.S.

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CBP officials said Hitch helped find three live moss bathmats shipped from Poland, which were later destroyed. Agents also recovered six skulls from the Netherlands that were turned over to the CDC.

More than 1,600 shipments have been intercepted at O'Hare's international mail facility in the past six months.

Officials said the most common items seized at the airport are pork and beef sausages, plants, plant materials, seeds for planting, and live snails.

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