Kenyan woman arrested in US for smuggling quail eggs

A Kenyan woman has been arrested in Arizona for smuggling of quail eggs.

The woman was intercepted on Monday evening at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The woman, whose name was not immediately released, was on a flight from Nairobi via London.

A police spokesperson told the media that authorities found a box of small raw bird eggs in her suitcase which were then taken for an intensive agriculture inspection.

“We found 103 small eggs in a small plastic container,” read a statement released by the US Customs and Border Protection officials in Phoenix.

HEART CONDITION

She told police that she had intended to use the eggs as medicine for her heart.

An airport official who spoke to KVOA, a local TV channel, said the eggs were destroyed and the woman reprimanded.

Authorities said the eggs were seized under a regulation that restricts their importation into the US.

It was not immediately clear whether she would be charged in court.

Importation of some agricultural products into the United States is a serious Federal crime whose conviction can attract hefty fines or long jail terms.