Cattle Network: Tourists Nabbed Trying To Smuggle Japanese Beef Into China
The luggage cases were cold to the touch. That was the first clue for Shanghai airport officials who found $54,00 worth of illegal Japanese beef in tourist luggage, according to the Shanghai Daily. On Nov. 3, officials discovered luggage filled with 800 kilograms of Japanese beef on a flight from Osaka and 160 kilograms in luggage on a flight from Tokyo as tourists tried to pass customs with their beef bounty. Just five days later, acting on a tip, airport officials found 26 boxes of Japanese beef weighing 530 kilograms and three boxes of tuna, all hidden in boxes labeled "mechanical parts". The Inspection and Quarantine Bureau detained the smugglers and destroyed all the beef, the newspaper said, in accordance with China's ban on Japanese beef imports due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy