Ba-Da-Ba-Ba-Busted: Passenger Fined Nearly $2k for Failing to Declare McMuffins
The individual incurred a “12-unit infringement notice for failing to declare potential high biosecurity risk items and providing a false and misleading document.”
A traveler was hit with a hefty fine upon arriving at an Australian airport last week for failing to declare a pair of McDonald’s McMuffin sandwiches.
The unnamed airline passenger was flying from Bali, Indonesia, to Darwin International Airport in Australia’s Northern Territory. They received a fine of $2,664 AUS (approx $1,874 USD) after a biosecurity detector dog named Zinta sniffed out the fast-food contraband.
“This will be the most expensive Maccas meal this passenger ever has,” Murray Watt, Australia’s minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, said in a statement.
“This fine is twice the cost of an airfare to Bali, but I have no sympathy for people who choose to disobey Australia’s strict biosecurity measures, and recent detections show you will be caught,” Watt added. His statement also indicated that the individual incurred a “12-unit infringement notice for failing to declare potential high biosecurity risk items and providing a false and misleading document.”
The sandwiches were tested for traces of foot and mouth disease (FMD), an ailment which is currently considered an outbreak in Indonesia, before they were subsequently destroyed. “Australia is FMD-free, and we want it to stay that way,” Watt said. “Biosecurity is no joke — it helps protect jobs, our farms, food and supports the economy. Passengers who choose to travel need to make sure they are fulfilling the conditions to enter Australia, by following all biosecurity measures.”
Last month, a similar occurrence took place in Perth, Australia, when a traveler neglected to declare a Subway sandwich they purchased during a layover in Singapore. They were fined $2,446 AUS (about $1,834 USD) for violating Australia’s stringent Biosecurity Act and documented the debacle on TikTok.