Apple ‘smuggler’ given £359 fine

A WOMAN who took an apple in her carry-on bag before getting on a flight claims to have been fined $500 (£359) by the US customs agency.

Crystal Tadlock, who was given the fruit on a Delta flight from Paris to Minneapolis, went through customs before boarding her connecting flight to Denver.

But she said she felt like ‘a criminal’ after security at Minneapolis airport found the apple – still wrapped in the Delta airline branded plastic – and penalised her during a random bag search.

It is against US Customs protocol to bring food products into the country unless they have been declared.

Mrs Tadlock, from Colorado, said her offers to throw the apple away or eat it were rejected by an agent, who asked if her flight to France was expensive.

‘I didn’t get why he was asking that, and then he said, “It’s about to get a lot more expensive after I charge you $500”,’ she added.

Mrs Tadlock will challenge the fine in court. She claims Delta should have told passengers about the requirements.

But Delta said they ‘encourage our customers to follow US Customs and Border Protection protocols’.