Customs agents seized 20 live giant millipedes hidden inside
a box marked "toy car model" that arrived at the mail facility at
San Francisco International Airport last week.

The box was shipped from Germany, the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection office said, and routed through an X ray
machine. That's when “agriculture specialists on duty were
quick to notice the deception."
Inside the package was a large plastic foam box and a large
mesh bag "containing the foot-long millipedes, along with
chunks of soil and paper," the agency said. They were referred
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service for positive identification.
While it is not illegal to import exotic animals — including
giant millipedes — the package "lacked required import
permits and was misrepresented in an attempt to bypass
federal regulations." It has since been turned over to the USDA
Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance office.
It's the second strange animal shipment to be intercepted by
customs officials in recent months.
In July, officials at Los Angeles International Airport seized 67
live African snails the size of hams .
The giant mollusks arrived from Lagos, Nigeria, in packages
labeled "Achatina fulica for human consumption," the U.S.
Customs & Border Protection office said. But the snails were
deemed "Archachatina marginata," which the customs agency
described as "a very serious threat to our agriculture, natural
ecosystem, public health and economy."
The snails were transferred to the U.S. Agriculture
Department.
"They can consume more than 500 types of plants and, if
vegetables or fruits are not available, will even eat the paint
and stucco off of houses," officials added. "They can be
carriers of several parasites which are harmful to humans, one
of which can lead to meningitis."

source: yahoo news