So you think walking off a commercial airliner with an apple in a carry-on is nothing to worry about, asks Grumpy Editor. Hold on. That one apple could nick your wallet for $500.
Most media missed this one.
It’s the case of Crystal Tadlock, returning to the U.S. on a Delta Air Lines flight from Paris. Nearing the U.S., flight attendants passed out apples in plastic bags for passengers who needed a snack.
Sounds like a good gesture, right?
Tadlock put the fruit in her carry-on as a later treat for the second leg of her flight to Colorado.
Back on U.S. soil, Tadlock and her bags were randomly selected to be searched by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent, reports Fox 31 in Denver. Tadlock said the agent pulled out the apple still in the plastic bag with Delta’s logo on it.
When questioned about the snack, Tadlock explained she received the apple from Delta and asked if she could throw it away or eat it.
The Customs agent, as reported by the Fox affiliate, allegedly told her no and said there is a $500 fine for carrying undeclared fruit.
"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,'" said Tadlock.
Tadlock told Fox 31 she was frustrated with the incident and felt Delta should not have passed out the apples to passengers or should have at least reminded passengers not to take the fruit off the plane. She also thinks Customs could have handled the situation differently after seeing the fruit was in an airline-marked bag.
"It’s really unfortunate someone has to go through that and be treated like a criminal over a piece of fruit," added Tadlock.
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