Apple Costs Passenger $500.

[Viv0828]

years ago my ds and i had eaten an apple and an orange on our lufthansa flight from germany to lax. the flight attendant never came around to pick up trash so i put the apple core and the orange peel in a baggy and stuffed it into my carry on and forgot about it. the fruit smelling beagle found it so i got it out. everyone cracked up including the customs agent who told me to throw it away, which i did. i don't think things are that casual anymore. :(

[Expat Cruise]

If she simply forgot that she had the Apple, then she wasn't lying. The act of lying requires intent to conceal the truth.

 

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Sorry but opinion here does not matter, only facts. Not a cruise a International Airline flight. The person was given Customs Declaration Form 6059B. This form clearly asks if you have fruit and you sign it under the pains & penalties of perjury. She signed the form which in itself with false information is a criminal offense.

 

But something else posters have missed here, it was not her first time to bring agricultural products into the United States.

 

Restricted Agriculture Goods which is food, plants, fruit, meat and vegetables is covered by Customs and Border Protection. The CBP says travelers can avoid penalties by declaring and presenting all agricultural articles to a CBP officer. So even if she made a mistake on the form she had a chance to correct it.

 

But she was fined $500 dollars.... it was not the first time she has had a issue with CBP. From CBP A first-time fine of $100 rises to $500 for a second offense for attempting to bring a restricted agricultural product into the United States.

 

It seems she was charged $500 as a second offense, anyone who has already paid a fine should have a very clear understanding of the rule.

[LeeW]

Global Entry still requires at minimum filling out an electronic questionnaire before entry where one is asked about agriculture items.

 

 

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And even the renewal process reminds you of complying with ag restrictions and failure to comply will result in loss of Global Entry and pre-check privileges. As a "frequent traveler" she would have known this.

[RJake1]

She did not acquire the Apple in France, therefore she did not bring it in from another country. That is, unless you consider the international air space over the Atlantic Ocean to be another country.

 

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[broberts]

She did not acquire the Apple in France, therefore she did not bring it in from another country. That is, unless you consider the international air space over the Atlantic Ocean to be another country.

 

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It's a miracle! An apple suddenly appeared in a woman's hand 40,000' in the air. :rolleyes:

 

The argument misses the most germaine point. The passenger made a false statement under penalty of law.

[RJake1]

If you had read the story you woukd know that the flight attendant distributed the apples near the end of their transatlantic flight. Hardly a miracle.

 

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[broberts]

If you had read the story you woukd know that the flight attendant distributed the apples near the end of their transatlantic flight. Hardly a miracle.

 

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Oh, so there is a chain of apple custody. Where did the flight attendant get the apple? Perchance, was the apple at some point in a vehicle on foreign soil?

 

Again, it doesn't matter where the apple came from. The passenger lied to an official when entering the US. That in and of itself is a violation.

[RocketMan275]

She did not acquire the Apple in France, therefore she did not bring it in from another country. That is, unless you consider the international air space over the Atlantic Ocean to be another country.

 

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Regardless of where she acquired the apple, she brought the apple into the US (unless you consider the international air space over the Atlantic Ocean to be inside the US).

[juiceman]

In fairness, the Apple was served to her by a U.S. airline and it was sealed/wrapped by the airline. The intent of the U.S. Customs rule is to avoid smugling agricultural products from another country due to risk of disease, harmful bacteria, contaminants, etc. I can understand her thinking that since she did not acquire the apple in a foreign country that it need not be declared. Maybe Delta actually loaded the apples onto the plane in the U.S.? In any event, she did not bring it from another country. I think she has a strong legal argument.

 

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She doesn't have a legal argument even if the apple was loaded on the plane in the US. Once it hits foreign soil, it cannot be legally brought back into the US without being declared. They do that to prevent disease, bugs, etc from entering the country.

 

You cannot even take a piece of fruit out of the Windjammer & off the ship when you return back to to the US at the end of your cruise, even though the ship was loaded in the US & did not take in any more supplies at any of the port stops.

[compman9]

Zero tolerance is more important than common sense (the apple could have just been thrown out by the border agent), it's not as if it was coming from an undeveloped country riddled with diseases and bugs

 

What a stupid world we live in

[spacepotatoes]

Back in 2009, my mom and I returned to Toronto from Budapest and there was a dog sniffing around in the baggage claim area. It became very interested in my mom’s purse. She had brought a banana onto the plane but she did eat it. The scent must have still been there. The guard handling the dog did a thorough search of my mom’s purse and asked us both repeatedly about food products (we didn’t have any) before finally letting us go. They don’t mess around.

[StolidCruiser]

Zero tolerance is more important than common sense (the apple could have just been thrown out by the border agent), it's not as if it was coming from an undeveloped country riddled with diseases and bugs

 

What a stupid world we live in

 

...or does the world we live in contain stupid people?

 

Like the woman who lied about her apple, a few here qualify.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Zero tolerance is more important than common sense (the apple could have just been thrown out by the border agent), it's not as if it was coming from an undeveloped country riddled with diseases and bugs

 

What a stupid world we live in

 

The agent probably would have just thrown it out IF SHE HAD DECLARED IT. She did not. And from the fine amount it was a SECOND offense so she should have known better.

[pilot]

She did not acquire the Apple in France, therefore she did not bring it in from another country. That is, unless you consider the international air space over the Atlantic Ocean to be another country.

 

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Yes she did acquire the apple from a foreign county. Delta does not haul any fruit from the US to a foreign country, for consumption on the return flight back to the US. All food is deplaned in the foreign county and new food is boarded.

 

Also, there are signs and in some airports, amnesty boxes to dispose of fruits.

 

I have seen flight attendants get busted for “forgetting” to trash fruits. Some have been fined and some are told to just trash it. It’s up to the agent.

 

Just because Delta gave her the apple does not excuse her from following the rules.

 

 

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[broberts]

Zero tolerance is more important than common sense (the apple could have just been thrown out by the border agent), it's not as if it was coming from an undeveloped country riddled with diseases and bugs

 

What a stupid world we live in

 

Talk to the farmers devastated by some imported pest about "common sense".

[sfaaa]

Zero tolerance is more important than common sense (the apple could have just been thrown out by the border agent), it's not as if it was coming from an undeveloped country riddled with diseases and bugs

 

What a stupid world we live in

 

Break the rule, pay the price. Total common sense.

[RJake1]

Fruit comes into this country all the time from foreign lands, unless I missed the banana farms in Ohio.

 

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[sfaaa]

Fruit comes into this country all the time from foreign lands, unless I missed the banana farms in Ohio.

 

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After complying with import/export disclosure requirements and customs inspection.

[Mr. Click]

To give you an idea of how good these dogs are... While I was in Sydney pre-cruise I did carry an apple or two in my camera bag for a few days. No apples when I boarded the ship, no apples at all after that but getting off in one port in New Zealznd I got stopped becuse the dog "showed a lot of interest" in my bag. They checked, I explained, we all had good chuckle....

[SRF]

There are actually US agriculture inspectors at ports that ship fruits and vegetables to the US.

 

And, as I said, there is more to this. Even her second time, unless she got into their faces, they would have just taken it for disposal.

[CelticMCO]

Exactly correct! Travelers are fined everyday just like people get speeding tickets everyday; why in the world did this even make the news? Guaranteed she was given a chance to "amend her declaration" but chose not too! Enough already!!!

The agent probably would have just thrown it out IF SHE HAD DECLARED IT. She did not. And from the fine amount it was a SECOND offense so she should have known better.

[Big_G]

Zero tolerance is more important than common sense (the apple could have just been thrown out by the border agent), it's not as if it was coming from an undeveloped country riddled with diseases and bugs

 

What a stupid world we live in

 

Probably nothing to do with zero tolerance. Things get thrown away all the time. Having spent a career in law enforcement, I've experienced first hand on numerous occasions where people just talk themselves into a ticket. There's probably more to the story.

[Milwaukee Eight]

There are actually US agriculture inspectors at ports that ship fruits and vegetables to the US.

 

And, as I said, there is more to this. Even her second time, unless she got into their faces, they would have just taken it for disposal.

 

 

 

Yep but they reported it.

 

 

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[SRF]

Probably nothing to do with zero tolerance. Things get thrown away all the time. Having spent a career in law enforcement, I've experienced first hand on numerous occasions where people just talk themselves into a ticket. There's probably more to the story.

 

Exactly.

 

Admit the mistake, apologize, and smile. :D

[RJake1]

We don't know if she was given an option. There are difficult cops just as there are difficult citizens. None of us know what happened.

 

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