Ouch! That is one hell of an expensive apple!
A female traveller was shockingly slapped with a hefty fine recently after she was caught crossing the customs with an apple that she was going to have as her in-flight snack! She was travelling from Paris to the US and she had saved that apple for the next flight to Denver.
Source: BBC
According to BBC, Crystal Tadlock was stopped at the customs after the agent found an apple in the random search. Apparently, all agriculture items must be declared, and Tadlock unfortunately failed to do so.
Hence, she was given an eye-watering ticket of $500 (approx. RM1,950) for that forbidden fruit. However, the problem was, she didn’t bring the apple on her own, it was provided by Delta Air Lines.
Source: Twitter
She did explain to the border agent and asked if she could eat it or throw it away, but the agent didn’t give face and handed her the ticket anyway.
“He had asked me if my trip to France was expensive and I said, ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t really get why he was asking that question, and then he said ‘It’s about to get a lot more expensive after I charge you $500 (approx. RM1,950).’
“It’s really unfortunate someone has to go through that and be treated like a criminal over a piece of fruit,” she told KDVR-TV.
Besides the hefty fine, Tadlock’s Global Entry status has been revoked. Here’s what she posted on her Twitter account.
Source: Twitter
Responding to the issue, a spokesperson from Delta Air Lines confirmed that they do serve French apples on their flight. “The apple in question was part of an in-flight meal meant to be consumed on the aircraft,” Delta said.
Understandably, she was pretty upset by it and urged fellow travellers not to take the apple, or risk losing their Global Entry status. Tadlock has decided to bring the case to court. Good luck!
So guys, what’s given in the plane, stays in the plane! Also, familiarise yourselves with the customs rules of the country you’re heading to avoid paying any fine!
Also read: Puppy Suffocates to Death After Cabin Crew Asked Owner to Put It in Overhead Compartment
