Torsten Posted May 27, 2008 Cannabis blunder at Tokyo airport An unwitting passenger arriving at Japan's Narita airport has received 142g of cannabis after a customs test went awry, officials say. A customs officer hid a package of the banned substance in a side pocket of a randomly chosen suitcase in order to test airport security. Sniffer dogs failed to detect the cannabis and the officer could not remember which bag he had put it in. Anyone finding the package has been asked to contact customs officials. "This case was extremely regrettable. I would like to deeply apologise," said Narita International Airport's customs head Manpei Tanaka. Strict laws The customs officer conducted the test on a passenger's bag against regulations. Normally a training suitcase is used. "I knew that using passengers' bags is prohibited, but I did it because I wanted to improve the sniffer dog's ability," the officer was quoted as saying. "The dogs have always been able to find it before... I became overconfident that it would work," he said. Japan has strict laws against drugs and possession of small amounts of cannabis can lead to a prison sentence. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/worl...fic/7419969.stm Published: 2008/05/26 10:34:00 GMT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jesus On Peyote Posted May 27, 2008 is all i can say for this one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted May 27, 2008 somebody at oztrance mentioned the possibility that the package was properly hidden, ie in the lining of the bag, and the traveller doesn't find it then goes to singapore where they do find it and said traveller gets the death sentence Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
folias Posted May 27, 2008 Japanese customs are the coolest customs in the world. When I arrived in narita a few years ago I declared some fruit I had bought in Hong Kong, a dragon fruit and some bananas and a melon. The middle age customs man reminded me of a gentle magical creature in one of Hayao Miyazak's animated films... and regretably and very politely informed me that I couldn't bring this fruit into Japan and then gave me three bookmarks with the excelllent pictures of the fruit on it and japanese script presumably saying something to the effect of that you can't bring dragonfruit into japan from other countries! Best bookmarks ever... unfortunately, all of them have been misplaced (one of them inside Gore Vidal's "America" I left on a plane) if you want to get some of these collectors items... just take a whole lot of exotic fruit into Japan and see if they have a bookmark to match your fruit! Julian. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
calea Posted May 27, 2008 The SMH ran the story with the headline, "Airport bungle gives passenger $10,000 in drugs". That works out to be about $70 a gram. o_O Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted May 27, 2008 Maybe that's how much pot costs in Japan? http://www.webehigh.com/city/detail.php?CITYID=2289 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted May 27, 2008 ok so if that traveller found the weed and found a buyer he's one happy traveller weighed down with millions of yen or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
botanika Posted May 27, 2008 Maybe the dog left it alone because it knew it wasn't a training suitcase. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nabraxas Posted May 27, 2008 (edited) Japanese customs are the coolest customs in the world. flying into Narita 5 years ago my belt buckle made the walk through metal detector go off. a pretty young female customs officer takes me aside & uses a hand held metal detector to check me over. sure enough it goes off over my belt buckle, so she manually checks to make sure there is nothing behind the buckle, but then she proceeds to check around the crotch area on the outside ov my pants.Through the material she felt all around my dick & balls, & when she didn't find any guns or bombs hidden there she let me go. i was completely stunned. these days i don't wear a belt when i fly. Edited May 27, 2008 by nabraxas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mauve Posted May 27, 2008 these days i don't wear a belt when i fly. Why ??? you were traumatised ? remind me to put my belt on next time i'll go there... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nabraxas Posted May 28, 2008 you were traumatised ? slightly...it was the brusqueness ov it all, it wouldn't have been sexy fun even if she had dressed like that....unless you get off on abit ov rough handling, not that there's anything wrong w/that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted May 30, 2008 Traveller returns drugs after Japanese customs blunder An unsuspecting traveller who walked away from a Tokyo airport with one million yen's ($9,904) worth of cannabis due to a customs blunder has returned the drugs, an official said. The passenger, identified only as a foreign person, was "extremely cooperative" and handed the drugs back to authorities after being informed of the mistake, a customs spokeswoman said. An officer at Narita International Airport on Sunday stuffed 142 grams (five ounces) of the drug into the side pocket of a randomly selected black suitcase coming off an overseas flight for a sniffer dog to find. The animal failed the test and the 38-year-old customs officer forgot which bag it was put in. "We tried to call passengers one by one and finally we found the person late Monday," the spokeswoman said. The cannabis, which has a street value of one million yen (9,680 dollars), was in a metal box wrapped with newspapers. The officer admitted to being aware of rules against using passenger bags for training but decided to do it anyway to "improve the sniffer dog's ability." "We are relieved to have recovered the drug," the spokeswoman said, adding that the officer will be punished. Japan prohibits cannabis and possession of even small amounts can lead to imprisonment. - AFP http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/30/2261050.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted May 30, 2008 So newspaper bound metal box is the smugglers choice? Or is shitty customs seized Japan weed just not stinky? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
