Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 10121

Cops Seize 756 Pounds of Smuggled Bologna

Nov 24, 6:59 PM (ET)

By The Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Border agents last week landed a meaty bust, seizing 756 pounds of bologna arranged into the shape of a car seat and covered with blankets in a man's pickup.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized 81 rolls of Mexican bologna Friday at the Paso Del Norte bridge as the pickup entered the United States.

"It puts the ultimate consumer at risk," said customs spokesman Roger Maier. "Who knows how long these products have gone without refrigeration or without proper handling?"

Children were sitting on top of the illegal load before it was discovered, Maier said. The rear seat had been removed from the extended-cab pickup and the bologna was put in its place.

He said the agency plans to pursue civil penalties against the Mexican man driving the truck. Maier said the agency won't release the man's name until the case goes to trial.

Maier said the bologna goes for about $1 a roll in Juarez. When it is sold to a customer in the United States, it can go for between $5 and $10 a roll , he said.


http://apnews.excite.com/article/20.../D7V19MI80.html

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Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 11769

One has to wonder why it costs so much more in the U.S.

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35561

Why is it so much more expensive in the US? Is it tarriffs or looser regulations (love the government), or both?

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Upstate NY
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Supply and demand?

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Beyond Mason-Dixon Line
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quote:

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Originally posted by Aydin
One has to wonder why it costs so much more in the U.S.

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Registered: Jan 2002
Location: Shreveport, LA
Posts: 3786

it's because most americans are dumb enough to pay ten times what it's worth, just because they've been told that's the price.

like cigarettes in tijuana, they tell you 8 bucks a carton and most people are dipshit enough to pay it, but they'll happily go for $4.50.

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
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Supply and Demand means that it must be tarriffs, I guess (or at least in large part). If that is all it is, it would appear to be in the consumer's interest to allow low-tarriff importation of bologna from Mexico. A 500-1000% markup is a lot.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Upstate NY
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Doesn't have to be tariffs. The same kind of thing occurs within the US in various regions, perhaps not at 1000%, but I would expect some kind of markup for anything sold here coming from another country based on cost to transport alone.

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
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If there wasn't a sizaeable tarriff, they probably wouldn't be disguising it as a carseat, of course. That and regulations on inspection of the meat, or whatever.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Upstate NY
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Or Customs regulations on how much can be transported.

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Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NYC
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Then again the American agricultural sector is more highly regulated than in the Soviet Union.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Beyond Mason-Dixon Line
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quote:

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Originally posted by Aydin
Then again the American agricultural sector is more highly regulated than in the Soviet Union.

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
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quote:

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Originally posted by MstrG
Or Customs regulations on how much can be transported.

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Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NYC
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quote:

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Originally posted by J E B Stuart
Not as of 26 December 1991.

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Zion
Posts: 4444

quote:

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Originally posted by MstrG
Doesn't have to be tariffs. The same kind of thing occurs within the US in various regions, perhaps not at 1000%, but I would expect some kind of markup for anything sold here coming from another country based on cost to transport alone.

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Registered: Nov 2003
Location: armpit, wv
Posts: 1217

quote:

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Originally posted by Cruise Director
Along with the thought on it not being the tariffs, might I mention pharmaceuticals?

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Registered: Oct 2001
Location:
Posts: 17889

Cigarettes fluxuate wildly in price from some states to others depending on the amount of tax assessed.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Veerheenyah
Posts: 3285

yeah, I only pay $17 a carton for mine.....My friend Shawn pays almost $40/carton for the same brand in Mass.

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Registered: Sep 2001
Location: A Whale's Vagina!
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quote:

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Originally posted by Mugtoe
Cigarettes fluxuate wildly in price from some states to others depending on the amount of tax assessed.

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Registered: Dec 2002
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Mexican processed meat products typically are not inspected by the US Dept of Agriculture. Thus, they may not legally be sold in the US, as the standards set by the Mexican ispectors are much different, and poorly enforced.

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Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NYC
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Bullshit, my stores are full of Mexican processed meat products, all USDA approved.

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Registered: Dec 2002
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You might want to carefully compare the USDA stamps, then think twice about what you buy.

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Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NYC
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They're inspected in Secaucus, NJ. Are you implying they're false stamps?

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Registered: Dec 2002
Location:
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Not at all. Where you are, a Secaucus, NJ, point of inspection makes sense. I certainly hope that they do random sampling of every load, and thorough microbiological screening.

I live in Houston. I can take you to any number of mexian markets and carniceria's and show you meat products with USDA seals that are in fact, forgeries.

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