Confiscated my Leatherman!!

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Just back from a great trip to New Zealand. Absolutely wonderful.
Only complaint - Aussie customs confiscated my Leatherman I'd unfortunately left in my backpack. "No tools allowed" - Bumma!!!!!

[xelasnave]

What a nonsence.
Alex

[PCH (Paul)]

You mean you don't get it back?

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

No. You don't get it back - lost forever!!!

[FlashDrive (Poppy)]

I'd like to know what happens to these kind of items when confiscated by Customs.

Are they ' destroyed ' .... or do they have a ' lucky dip ' draw at the end of each shift for Customs Officers to chose what they like to take home for themselves ....

Seems silly to go over the top on some items. ....

Col.....

[PCH (Paul)]

Originally Posted by Merlin66

No. You don't get it back - lost forever!!!

So Ken, have I got this right? The tool was allowed on the plane at the kiwi end, but confiscated by Aussie customs on arrival when it was no longer a danger?

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Sorry,
It was confiscated on the way out from Australia......

[LewisM]

You CAN actually get it back, IF you pre-arranged a ticket.

My wife left nail scissors in her handbag by mistake. They took them. We demanded we pick them up on our return, so they gave us a ticket to reclaim. When we came back, we got them back - they had a box full of nail scissors! They even said help yourself to any others, as nearly everyone does NOT ask for a ticket to reclaim.

Go ask - you may be surprised, unless said Customs officer pocketed it. They wouldn't do that, would they? LOLOLOL

[Larryp (Laurie)]

Customs hold auctions every so often, so they can get rid of lost or confiscated stuff.

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Lewis,
I did ask....
The best they offered was to go back and either leave it "somewhere " or pack in baggage- not really an option.
No mention at any time of a "ticket" system.

[acropolite (Phil)]

I did the same on a flight from Bris to Tas, The guy who scanned my bag was kind enough to point me towards the nearest Auspost franchise, I bought a post bag and posted the leatherman back to Tas.

[Boozlefoot]

I shudder to think of a plane hijacked by manicurists in surgical facemasks on their way to a beauty convention, the crew held back by nail files and cuticle retainers, while the lead hijacker tries to work out whether the cockpit door is accessed by either phillips head or standard screws, and then struggles to get the lethal leatherman open without breaking a nail

[fsphotography (Frank)]

Hi Ken, i had similar experience except with a twist. Customs discovered one of those very handy Swiss credit card tool kits in my camera bag along with a set of stainless steel verniers. It was explained to me that the credit card would be confiscated as it had a knife in it(40mm blade)and a pair of scissors(30mm blades). I was then asked about the verniers,what purpose they served and why i was carrying them. One of my interests is large format photography and i use the vernier as an adjustable spanner to remove and tighten retaining rings when interchanging lens boards and lenses. They listened to my explanation,looked at each and agreed i could keep them,i have to say much to my surprise. I think we all know how verniers work, as you open up the caliper to measure something a spike(used to measure depth) begins to protrude from the from the other end. If you open up the caliper wide enough for your hand, and grip the verniers like a knife, you have a 120mm spike to thrust or stab with and two very sharp protrusion top and bottom of your fist to punch and cut with. Now if i had my druthers i would much rather take someone on with the knife from the credit card. Now i know you can't be on top of every thing but that was just plain stupid.
Frank.

[ripkirbyqld (Rodney)]

I accidentally left a near bottle of Johnny Walker Black in my carry on luggage when leaving Vietnam. It was confiscated and I notices they had about a dozen bottles of various spirits under the counter and wondered if they handed them or split them up at the end of the shift

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by ripkirbyqld

I accidentally left a near bottle of Johnny Walker Black in my carry on luggage when leaving Vietnam. It was confiscated and I notices they had about a dozen bottles of various spirits under the counter and wondered if they handed them or split them up at the end of the shift

That brings back memories...

About 10 years ago, we were working at the Deni ute muster. The Bundaberg tent had about 3 blokes, and a massive amount of setting up to do, so they asked us to help. Our 'payment' was that the doors to a shipping container half full of confiscated grog was opened to us. And the ute muster hadn't even really started yet...