Alleged Child Rapist Arrest, Iran Jewelry Seizure and Cooked Crocodile Cap Busy Weekend for Dulles CBP

Sterling, VA. -- It was a typically busy weekend for Customs and Border Protection employees at Washington-Dulles International Airport as officers arrested an alleged child rapist and seized Iranian jewelry, while agriculture specialists seized a wholly cooked crocodile and nearly seven pounds of antelope meat this weekend.

Officers arrested Augusto G. Montalvo, 54, of Springfield, Va., on a Fairfax County arrest warrant after he arrived Saturday from Bolivia. Montalvo faces one count of aggravated sexual battery and one count of animate object sexual penetration. Charges stems from a report filed with the Fairfax County Police Department on January 25. The victim was 12 years old at the time. CBP officers confirmed Montalvo’s identity and arrest warrant, and then turned him over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police.

Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists discovered cooked cow’s feet (right) and tetra pleura tetraptera, an African plant use as an herbal anti-inflammatory, concealed in the luggage of a passenger who arrived from Ghana to Washington Dulles International Airport April 4, 2011. 

“Sexually assaulting anyone is a vicious crime, but allegations of assaulting a 12-year-old child are particularly heinous. CBP officers take great pleasure in returning dangerous fugitives like this to justice,” said Christopher Hess, CBP port director for the Port of Washington.

CBP placed a detainer on Montalvo to be returned to CBP upon adjudication of charges and potential sentence.

CBP officers seized a passenger-estimated $3,000 in Iranian jewelry Sunday. The jewelry, which included one gold and one silver ring, two gold necklaces, a gold bracelet and a pair of earrings, violated the Treasure Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions on Iranian products. CBP officers also required the passenger to complete a FINCEN form for possessing currency exceeding $10,000 in U.S. dollars or foreign equivalent. The passenger admitted to carrying $9,300, but officers discovered $11,106 in U.S. dollars and 141,177 Iranian Rials, equal to about $14 in U.S. dollars.

CBP agriculture specialists fined a passenger from Ethiopia $300 Friday for repeatedly failing to declare food products in her suitcase. Upon opening her baggage, agriculture specialists discovered nearly seven pounds of cooked antelope meat and a cooked crocodile. The crocodile is protected by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an endangered species conservation agreement.

Meat and plant products from continents that have experienced animal or plant diseases are generally prohibited from importing to the U.S. without appropriate U.S. Department of Agriculture permits.

Agriculture specialists fined a passenger from Panama $300 Sunday for possessing mangoes and yucca after repeatedly denying possessing food products, and fined a passenger from Ethiopia $175 Saturday for failing to declare about four pound of dried beef.

CBP fined two passengers who arrived from Ghana Monday $300 and $175 for failing to declared possessing prohibited agriculture products. CBP agriculture specialists discovered four pounds of cooked cow’s feet and two pounds of tetra pleura tetraptera, an African plant use as an herbal anti-inflammatory, in the first passenger’s luggage, and two pounds of cooked antelope in the second passenger’s luggage.

“These enforcement activities are a few examples of what our highly trained and dedicated employees do every day to intercept potential threats at our nation’s borders, and to keep us, our agriculture and our nation safe,” Hess said.

CBP routinely conducts random inspection operations on arriving and departing passengers searching for narcotics, currency, weapons and other prohibited or illicit products.

U.S. citizens and foreign visitors can learn more about admissible and prohibited products, and other travel regulations at CBP’s travel site.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.