A human brain was seized at the US border after someone from Canada attempted to ship the undocumented organ across country lines.

US Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port Huron port in Michigan were examining a Canadian mail truck when they discovered a package labeled "Antique Teaching Specimen", according to a news release.

Border agents stopped the mail truck after it crossed Blue Water Bridge in a routine check when they discovered the package.

Inside the package, seized on Friday, was a brain in a jar "without any paperwork or documentation in support of its lawful entry".

According to the release, the brain came from Toronto and was intended for a recipient in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

"Individuals looking to import shipments, such as this, need to remember that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a strict Import Permit Program that must be adhered to," Area Port Director Michael Fox said.

"This is just another great example of just one of the many things CBP officers do to protect our nation on a daily basis."

The CDC Import Permit Program regulates the importation of "infections biological materials that could cause disease in humans".

An application to the CDC is required prior to mailing biological agents, vectors of human disease, or live bats to the US.

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