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Farewell gift leaves traveller $1000 poorer
4 December 2000
A mother's farewell gift of bean seeds proved expensive for a Silvan man who's a thousand dollars poorer after being caught trying to smuggle bean seeds into Australia.
The man claimed his mother gave the bean seeds to him at the end of a family visit to the Netherlands. AQIS officers charged him when the bean seeds were found in his luggage during a routine baggage inspection following his arrival at Melbourne Airport.
While admitting he had packed the goods, and that he hadn't declared them, the passenger tried to justify his actions by claiming he was going to eat the beans himself.
But the attempted seed smuggling was no minor matter for AQIS. The undeclared bean seeds could have introduced a variety of insects, plant diseases and plant pathogens that could cause serious damage to Australia's agricultural sector and valuable export markets.
The case was heard this month in the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court, where the magistrate convicted the man and fined him $1000.
That's one traveller who'll be much more more cautious about what he brings home next time.
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Contact: Michael Scammell - Media and Public Awareness
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