USA: monkey skulls in a suitcase from the DRC

A US Customs and Border Protection dog sniffed out something unusual in the luggage of a traveller returning from Africa: mummified monkeys.

The passenger returning from a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed his luggage contained dried fish, but an inspection at Boston's Logan Airport revealed the dead and dehydrated bodies of four monkeys, agents said. 

The traveller said he had brought the monkeys into the United States for his own consumption, CPB spokesman Ryan Bissette said on Sunday.

Raw or minimally processed meat from wild animals, sometimes called "bush meat", is banned in the US because of the risk of disease.

"The dangers posed by the introduction of bushmeat into the United States are real. Bushmeat can carry germs that can cause disease, including the Ebola virus," said Julio Caravia, local port director for customs and border protection.

The incident occurred last month but was made public on Friday.

Mr Bissette said on Sunday that no charges had been laid, but that all the luggage had been seized and the 4kg or so of bushmeat had been marked for destruction by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.