If the master of such 1 vessel or the person in charge of any such vehicle fails to proceed with reasonable promptness to the port of destination and to deliver such vessel or vehicle to the proper officers of the customs, or fails to proceed in accordance with such regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, or unlades such merchandise or any part thereof at other than such port of destination, or disposes of any such merchandise by sale or otherwise, he shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both; and any such vessel or vehicle, with its contents, shall be subject to forfeiture.
(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, §464,
As enacted by act June 17, 1930, the catchline for this section was "Same-penalties in connection with sealed vessels and vehicles", as this section was intended to be read as a continuation of the provisions introduced in section 1459 of this title. When first enacted, section 1459 of this title related to arrival in the United States from a contiguous country but has since been amended by
Provisions somewhat similar to those in this section, with a further provision for seizure of the vessel, car, or vehicle with its contents, and a provision that nothing therein should prevent sales of cargo prior to arrival, to be delivered per manifest and after due inspection, were contained in R.S. §3104, which was superseded in part by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, §464,
1 See Codification note below.