His best friend refused Oz entry

– Former NBA player Lamar Patterson had his French bulldog seized by notoriously strict Australian customs officials who found the animal stashed inside the athlete’s hand luggage.

Patterson, who recently signed for the Brisbane Bullets, had the pooch – called Kobe – in his carry-on when he arrived in Australia on Thursday.

“Biosecurity officers at Brisbane Airport have seized a dog that arrived on a flight from the United States undeclared and without an import permit,” the Department of Agriculture said in a statement.

The case is reminiscent of the Johnny Depp “war on terrier” saga – when the Hollywood star and his then-wife Amber Heard fell foul of Australia’s strict quarantine laws in failing to declare pets Pistol and Boo on arrival on a private jet in 2015.

Heard escaped with a fine and a good behaviour bond, but a war of words erupted between Depp and then-Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who threatened to have the dogs destroyed. –

Sydney