Man lied to border police, fined $4k

A VICTORIAN man was slapped with a $4003 fine after attempting to enter Queensland on Thursday afternoon.

The 27-year-old was pulled over by police at the state border control checkpoint on Inglewood Texas Road, where he told officers he hadn’t been in Victoria for more than two weeks.

The officers checked his story with their Victorian counterparts, who alleged the man had been in Melbourne recently.

Queensland shut its borders to Victorian residents at noon, July 10, after a second outbreak of coronavirus hit the southern state, infecting hundreds of people and forcing a second stage 3 lockdown.

The Queensland Government had previously announced that from July 3 anyone who had been in Victoria in the past two weeks could only enter the state if they went into hotel quarantine at their own expense.

But under the new rule, travellers from Victoria are completely banned.

The man was fined more than $4000 for allegedly having untrue information on his border declaration and failing to comply with the COVID-19 border direction, then refused entry into the sunshine state.

It was the third time the man had tried to enter the Southern Downs, having been turned away twice before.

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said officers were committed to ensuring everyone complied with the directions and would continue to crack down at the border, intercepting cars at random and fact-checking declarations.

The man was the 10th person to be fined for allegedly putting false information on their entry declaration passes.