Woman fined $500 for bringing free Delta in-flight snack through customs
Crystal Tadlock was travelling on the first leg of her flight home from Paris when she received an apple wrapped in plastic with a Delta Air Lines logo displayed on the packaging as part of an in-flight meal, KDVR reports. Tadlock told the local Denver news outlet that she wasn’t hungry, so she stashed the apple in her bag and planned to eat it on her second flight back to Denver.
Tadlock’s bag was then randomly searched at U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, where they found the apple.
“He had asked me if my trip to France was expensive and I said, ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t really get why he was asking that question, and then he said ‘It’s about to get a lot more expensive after I charge you $500,'” Tadlock told KDVR.
Tadlock plans to fight the ticket in court, and she’s upset because she could possibly lose her Global Entry Status.
“It’s really unfortunate someone has to go through that and be treated like a criminal over a piece of fruit,” Tadlock said.
In a statement to PEOPLE, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol says that “privacy policy prohibits CBP from discussing the details of any individuals specific inspection, however, all agriculture items must be declared. Prohibited items that are not declared by a passenger are confiscated and disposed of by CBP. More importantly, civil penalties may be assessed for failure to declare prohibited agricultural products and may range up to $1,000 per first-time offense for noncommercial quantities.”
Want the ultimate dish on the latest celebrity food news, plus exclusive recipes, videos and more? Click here to subscribe to the People Food newsletter.
Although Tadlock said she was “frustrated” with the way customs handled the situation, she told KDVR that she wishes Delta had warned customers not to take the fruit off the plane or not passed out the snack at all. However, a representative for Delta tells PEOPLE that the apple was “intended to be consumed on the plane,” and noted that Delta has videos in their in-flight entertainment system that detail what passengers need to know when going through customs.
“Delta recommends all passengers comply with U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules and regulations when entering the country,” the Delta spokesperson said. “U.S. Customs has clear warnings at the entry point and on the declaration form that you must declare fruit that is brought into the country. It appears that this passenger did not declare the apple and it was discovered upon inspection.”
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.
