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Most Excitement ... Going Through Customs?

Started by Malthus, October 07, 2014, 05:57:08 PM

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Savonarola

Quote from: Malthus on October 09, 2014, 02:39:06 PM
Quote from: Savonarola on October 09, 2014, 02:28:10 PM
My brother worked for customs as an Agricultural Inspector at the land border crossings in Detroit.  He said the most unusual thing they found was a missile.  It was a Korean War era relic and headed to a museum; but the academics bringing it over had no documentation whatsoever.  It never occurred to them that there would be any difficulty crossing an international border with a missile.

Which direction was it heading?

Into the United States.
In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace—and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock

Malthus

Quote from: Savonarola on October 09, 2014, 02:46:54 PM
Quote from: Malthus on October 09, 2014, 02:39:06 PM
Quote from: Savonarola on October 09, 2014, 02:28:10 PM
My brother worked for customs as an Agricultural Inspector at the land border crossings in Detroit.  He said the most unusual thing they found was a missile.  It was a Korean War era relic and headed to a museum; but the academics bringing it over had no documentation whatsoever.  It never occurred to them that there would be any difficulty crossing an international border with a missile.

Which direction was it heading?

Into the United States.

I guess they just figured a man's got a constitutional right to pack a missile down there.  ;) No well-regulated militia is complete without one!
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius

Savonarola

Quote from: Malthus on October 09, 2014, 02:49:08 PM
I guess they just figured a man's got a constitutional right to pack a missile down there.  ;) No well-regulated militia is complete without one!

Plus they were heading into Detroit; there's parts of the city where packing a missile is just common sense.
In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace—and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock

Malthus

Quote from: Savonarola on October 09, 2014, 02:54:52 PM
Quote from: Malthus on October 09, 2014, 02:49:08 PM
I guess they just figured a man's got a constitutional right to pack a missile down there.  ;) No well-regulated militia is complete without one!

Plus they were heading into Detroit; there's parts of the city where packing a missile is just common sense.

Has the additional social benefit that if you are forced to use it and blow up some houses, you will end up increasing local property values.
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius

lustindarkness

My worst customs related incident was working as a customs inspector for the military of personnel and equipment headed back to the US from the middle east.
The organic matter found in blown up military vehicles is not the type of things you want to find. :(
Grand Duke of Lurkdom

crazy canuck

Quote from: Malthus on October 09, 2014, 02:58:32 PM
Quote from: Savonarola on October 09, 2014, 02:54:52 PM
Quote from: Malthus on October 09, 2014, 02:49:08 PM
I guess they just figured a man's got a constitutional right to pack a missile down there.  ;) No well-regulated militia is complete without one!

Plus they were heading into Detroit; there's parts of the city where packing a missile is just common sense.

Has the additional social benefit that if you are forced to use it and blow up some houses, you will end up increasing local property values.

You would think they would give tax breaks to people who bring them in

mongers

Quote from: lustindarkness on October 09, 2014, 03:07:59 PM
My worst customs related incident was working as a customs inspector for the military of personnel and equipment headed back to the US from the middle east.
The organic matter found in blown up military vehicles is not the type of things you want to find. :(

Not nice on several levels.  :(
"We have it in our power to begin the world over again"

Archy

Working at the import department I'm almost in daily contact with customs.
I remember the time that I was working at the desk of a handling agent and artists came with a customs officer to clear their own instruments. They were busy and at a certain moment the customs officer just left without notice because his shift ended. They had to bring in another.

Most fun I had recently was when we had a temporary import with lab material for a training session for a client of us. Unfortunately on the invoice there was an error and the wrong type of apparel was mentioned because of this customs needed to have a new list. Luckily the training giver a French Canadian came over to our depot and we checked piece by piece, at the end in succeeding to get the goods released.

Savonarola

Quote from: Archy on October 10, 2014, 05:53:21 AM
Most fun I had recently was when we had a temporary import with lab material for a training session for a client of us. Unfortunately on the invoice there was an error and the wrong type of apparel was mentioned because of this customs needed to have a new list. Luckily the training giver a French Canadian came over to our depot and we checked piece by piece, at the end in succeeding to get the goods released.

Some of the brokers out there aren't the best; and often truckers get stranded for days at the border because their manifest is all messed up.  My brother once came across one that listed the country of origin as "Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea;" that led to a few phone calls.  It turns out that the broker didn't realize that the DPRK and ROK were different countries and had just put in the first one listed for Korea.
In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace—and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock

Josquius

I've never personally had much trouble.
I do remember when I flew to Japan on KLM (i.e. via Amsterdam) one time though, the security was a lot tighter than I've ever seen before, sniffer dogs galore.
Oh those crazy Japanese and their attitude to weed.
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Tonitrus

Quote from: Tyr on October 11, 2014, 03:28:23 AM
I've never personally had much trouble.
I do remember when I flew to Japan on KLM (i.e. via Amsterdam) one time though, the security was a lot tighter than I've ever seen before, sniffer dogs galore.
Oh those crazy Japanese and their attitude to weed.

When I flew in/around/out of Japan back in 2010, I thought their airport security seemed almost invisible/nonexistent compared to our paranoid security state.

Josquius

Interesting. It always seemed quite tight to me, that time though was another level.
I dont have much experience outside the eu to compare to though
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Liep

Quote from: Tonitrus on October 11, 2014, 03:44:23 AM
When I flew in/around/out of Japan back in 2010, I thought their airport security seemed almost invisible/nonexistent compared to our paranoid security state.

Yeah, me too, except for this very old guy asking me if I would like him to sweep me with what he called a bomb residue detector. I told him no, I wouldn't like that. He smiled, part friendly - part slyly, and asked if I was sure. I wasn't.
"Af alle latterlige Ting forekommer det mig at være det allerlatterligste at have travlt" - Kierkegaard

"JamenajmenømahrmDÆ!DÆ! Æhvnårvaæhvadlelæh! Hvor er det crazy, det her, mand!" - Uffe Elbæk

CountDeMoney

Quote from: Liep on October 12, 2014, 04:02:39 AM
Yeah, me too, except for this very old guy asking me if I would like him to sweep me with what he called a bomb residue detector. I told him no, I wouldn't like that. He smiled, part friendly - part slyly, and asked if I was sure. I wasn't.

That's only because he didn't work for airport security.  Man, is your gaydar off.