OK yesterday I took a major detour from the usual and thank you for your empathy and sympathy. It took a while to muster up the need to post but hey, this is a personal blog and I don't post half the things I'd like to now that it's 'out there'. So let's lighten up. Don't know about you but I love a show that's on here called "Border Security" that nabs particularly the Chinese and Middle Eastern visitors for their incredibly weird undeclared foodstuffs. Hello! This is Australia and there's nothing you can't buy here . . even Magners is on tap!
A 29-year-old tourist from the Philippines has spent five days in custody after Australian Customs officials mistook iced tea for drugs.
Tourist, Maria Silva bought three 800 gram bags of Nestle iced tea on her way to the airport in Manila before her flight to Melbourne.
On arrival at Melbourne Airport she was detected by sniffer dogs and arrested by Customs.
Customs' initial tests showed the packets contained 2.44 kilograms of meth amphetamines.
Customs later revised its results to amphetamines and Ms Silva was charged with importing a commercial quantity of drugs into Australia.
It was only after she spent five days in custody, unable to contact family or friends, that further tests by a Federal Police forensic team revealed the supposed drugs were in fact powdered lemon-flavoured iced tea.
The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard the powdered formula contains an ingredient that is often mistaken for drugs.
The Magistrate awarded Ms Silva $5,000 in costs for what he described as "an unfortunate set of circumstances."
Ms Silva burst into tears as she was released from custody today.
Outside court, her lawyer, Michael Pena-Rees said Ms Silva had bought the iced tea, which is cheaper in the Philippines, for her friend as a treat.
Mr Pena-Rees says Customs is yet to apologise for its mistake.
I tell ya . . give someone a uniform and some electronic gadgetry, a well-trained Beagle and your talcum powder becomes suspect . . does anyone use talcum powder anymore? If you ever visit Australia, trust me, you can buy iced tea and we won't insist you brew it in a billly.
Have a lovely weekend. We're in full 'spruce up the overgrown garden mode' this weekend and guess what, it's going to be 28 degrees, I'll lose kilos in lost fluids!
Did I mention that I love Labradors! And butt cheeks! And Frenchmen who stick chargers up their bottoms.
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