Federal officials claim that illegally imported duck blood and goose intestines from China are concealed under rattlesnakes

Federal authorities reported that six persons were detained in New York on Tuesday on suspicion of smuggling goose and duck intestines into the US illegally from China. In some instances, the detainees concealed the guts inside wrapped rattlesnakes or falsely listed them as pet grooming supplies on customs paperwork.

Authorities stated in a lawsuit filed on Monday that the scam entailed shipping the forbidden food products from China to California and then on to New York, where they were sold to clients, including restaurants. It reportedly involved the unlawful importation of duck blood and hawthorn fruit.

The six are accused of bringing into the country, holding onto, and reselling hundreds of pounds of illicit food goods between August 2022 and May 2023. They were scheduled to appear in federal court in Brooklyn later on Tuesday. Their lawyers were contacted for comments.

According to the authorities, hawthorn fruit from China is barred and any raw poultry items from China are prohibited by federal legislation.

The lawsuit states that 1,966 cartons of duck and geese intestines were sent from China to the Port of Long Beach in August 2022. Upon arrival, the intestines were listed on customs documents as nail clippers and other pet grooming supplies.

According to federal investigators, the boxes were dropped off at Los Angeles International Airport and transported by a major US air carrier’s cargo service to John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The authorities said that some of the prohibited goods were hidden behind crates of dead rattlesnakes in another consignment of unlawful chicken products that arrived in November 2022 and was mistakenly classified as frozen seafood.