A Colorado woman is facing a $500 fine from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for saving a free apple she received as a snack from Delta Air Lines on her way back to the United States from Pairs, France.

Crystal Tadlock told Fox 31 Denver, toward the end of her flight from Paris, flight attendants passed out apples in plastic bags as a snack. Tadlock put the fruit in her carry-on to save for when she was hungry during the second leg of her trip.

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Once Tadlock arrived in the U.S., she went through Customs and her bag was chosen to be randomly searched, Fox 31 reported. Tadlock says a Customs agent pulled out the apple in the plastic bag with Delta’s logo on it.

When questioned about the snack, Tadlock explained she received the apple from the airline and asked if she could throw it away or eat it, Fox 31 reported. The Customs agent allegedly told her no and fined her $500 for carrying the 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 to Fox 31.

Tadlock said the innocent mistake could end up costing her bigger than just the $500 fine – she could also lose her Global Entry Status, which allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to have expedited clearance into the U.S.

Tadlock told Fox 31 she’s frustrated with the incident and feels Delta should not have passed the apples out to customers or should have at least reminded passengers not to take the fruit off of 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," said Tadlock to Fox 31.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, “every fruit or vegetable must be declared to a CBP Agriculture Specialist or CBP Officer and must be presented for inspection.”

A spokesperson for Delta said in a statement to Fox 31, “we encourage our customers to follow U.S. Customs and Border Protection protocols."

Tadlock is planning to fight the charge in court.

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God bless the CBP keeping us safe from French apples.

I understand this was just an innocent mistake. And, yeah, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are frequently raging assholes. But... if she's been flying enough to have GES, then she damn sure should have known better than to fail to declare fruit at Customs. Hell, I haven't flown internationally for over 25 years and and even I know better than to pull a stunt like that.

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
God bless the CBP keeping us safe from French apples.

Their diligence in such matters is unparalleled. Thank the good Lord someone is willing to hire those 30-somethings who are working on their GED.

She has Global Entry? Should have known better. Good luck with the judge, you'll need it.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I understand this was just an innocent mistake. And, yeah, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are frequently raging assholes. But... if she's been flying enough to have GES, then she damn sure should have known better than to fail to declare fruit at Customs. Hell, I haven't flown internationally for over 25 years and and even I know better than to pull a stunt like that.

My first thought was the airline had fruits and vegetables already inspected and cleared for the country which they were arriving. And such thought would lead to the follow-on question; did customs board the plane to inspect all the food and the aircraft was deplaned?

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I understand this was just an innocent mistake. And, yeah, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are frequently raging assholes. But... if she's been flying enough to have GES, then she damn sure should have known better than to fail to declare fruit at Customs. Hell, I haven't flown internationally for over 25 years and and even I know better than to pull a stunt like that.

^^ THIS ^^

Delta passed it out as a snack not as a take home gift exempt from US customs and agricultural inspection laws.

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:
God bless the CBP keeping us safe from French apples.

The apple is symbolic of the larger problem. The woman has Global Entry because she is a frequent traveler who supposedly knows the rules and can go in the short, fast line because she doesn't need all of the inspection like the unwashed masses that can't follow the simplest guideline. In Houston, the GE can be 30 min whereas the regular line is 2 hours so with privilege comes responsibility.

Watch one of those border crossing reality shows and you wouldn't believe the shit people try to smuggle or not to declare. I travel internationally both for business and occasionally for pleasure plus I used to live in Canada. Prior to getting NEXUS (Global Entry plus fast entry into Canada), I saw a bunch of it with my own eyes.

It doesn't say which airport she cleared customs prior to continuing on a domestic flight to Colorado. Major airports like Houston have direct flights to 3rd world countries in West Africa, South America, etc. that have all kinds of nasties we don't want in the country, and the customs clearing lines all converge into one area and the only segregation is the nation on your passport and programs like Global Entry.

Even if she had eaten it during the flight, they could claim that she was hiding it in a body cavity.

Anyone who thinks a $500 fine in this situation is justifiable has a log shoved up their ass. Customs did their job and found the apple. Explain why she can't take it and carry on. She's not a repeat offender nor is she trying to start a French apple orchard in her backyard.

My Mom was in a similar situation years back. A customs dog found the apple in her luggage and the agent took it, explained why and moved on.

Much more dangerous stuff crosses our borders and the effort should be focused on that, not writing $500 citations to everyday Americans who make honest mistakes.

Reminds me of the California fruit border patrol guys.

quote:

Originally posted by StayFrosty:
not writing $500 citations to everyday Americans who make honest mistakes.

She had GES, it wasn't an honest mistake...it was a sense of entitlement

I am very happy for all those posting about how stupid this woman was. Glad to know none of you have ever made an innocent mistake.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I understand this was just an innocent mistake. And, yeah, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are frequently raging assholes. But... if she's been flying enough to have GES, then she damn sure should have known better than to fail to declare fruit at Customs. Hell, I haven't flown internationally for over 25 years and and even I know better than to pull a stunt like that.

I could see anyone making an honest mistake. The form itself says "I am bringing fruit, vegetables, plants etc. yes or no" She didn't buy the fruit in France, it was given to her on the plane. Chances are the apple originated in the U.S. to begin with. Most customs agents would have simply tossed it in the special garbage can and gave an easy verbal warning. Hell, it was still in a sealed plastic bag and given to her on the plane, so it's an apple that is already approved to be in the U.S. .

It seems to me that after we get serious about the hordes of illegal IMMIGRANTS crossing our borders, carrying God only knows what, then we can worry about US citizens carrying an illegal apple off an aircraft in a plastic bag.

And what happened to the rest of the apples that were on the plane? Hauled back to France? Jettisoned over the Atlantic?

What about the filthy, disease ridden apple cores that were left after the other passengers ate their dirty French apples? Incinerated there at the airport I guess?

quote:

Originally posted by 9mmepiphany:

quote:

Originally posted by StayFrosty:
not writing $500 citations to everyday Americans who make honest mistakes.

She had GES, it wasn't an honest mistake...it was a sense of entitlement

As with all crimes big and small, it is always an honest mistake once caught.

Upon stopping an individual for importing undeclared fruit, how many times has the Customs Officers been told; Yes I intended to sneak that fruit past you?
My bet is never.

She darn well knew and choose to break the importation law.
We can argue the merits of the law, but that's a different topic.

Did she know the law and intentionally ignore it?
Yes

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
I am very happy for all those posting about how stupid this woman was. Glad to know none of you have ever made an innocent mistake.

This. Sometimes government governs a little too much.

RMD

Let's first consider why this law exists.

"One good example of problems imported fruits and vegetables can cause is the Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak during the 1980s. The outbreak cost the state of California and the federal government approximately $100 million to get rid of this pest. The cause of the outbreak was one traveler who brought home one contaminated piece of fruit."

Also note the fine $500.

This tells us it is her second offense.
First offense = $300
Second offense = $500

Link to fruit importation restriction.

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
I am very happy for all those posting about how stupid this woman was. Glad to know none of you have ever made an innocent mistake.

She has Global Entry and part of the application program is reviewing the rules and signing that you know the rules. From her own statement:

quote:

Tadlock put the fruit in her carry-on to save for when she was hungry during the second leg of her trip.

In other words, she INTENTIONALLY put it in her bag for the domestic portion of her flight which would occur AFTER clearing customs from the first portion of her flight. The rest of the article is just her blaming everyone but herself.

quote:

Originally posted by kimber1911:
Also note the fine $500.

This tells us it is her second offense.
First offense = $300
Second offense = $500

The fine structure is an interesting twist on this story. Thanks for posting.

Mindlessness is the primary product of bureaucracies.