Every once
in a while we make a mistake and pack something in your bag that you should
have researched slightly better. No we are not talking about Narcotics, this is
not that type of packing but more along the lines of items that can be
considered weapons. Living and travelling in Europe within the Schengen countries, the rules are a lot more lenient on items that are concealed in your
checked in luggage.
However
once you step outside of the European zone, the rules become a lot stricter.
So let’s
see what I had packed in my checked in luggage:
A: A
jewelry chain with an empty bullet with the following words carved on it “Better
wear than use” made by a Polish designer at Unikke Design
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B: A blue
Cheese knife. (Why carry a knife? Well travelling in France and Spain you
always need a knife for the cheese and baguette. Ask any Frenchmen and they
will tell you the importance of this knife)
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So fast
forward the trip from Oslo > Zurich (Transit) > Dubai (24 hour Layover)
> Singapore (For my 2 day layover)
The
Singapore Airlines flight landed at 0700 and I was super tired, the red eye
flights are not my favorite. I was impressed with the efficiency of the staff
at the airport and by 0720 I was on my way to the exit of Changi airport, ready
to hop in a taxi and get to the airport and get my sleep on.
On the way
out, out of all the passengers exiting the customs officer decided to select
me. She approached me and said, “Sir, we need to x-ray your bag.” So I complied
as any traveler would do.
The results
came back and the lady was concerned by one of the items in the bag. She said,
“You have a prohibited item in the bag, please open the bag.”
Upon
opening the bag I realized that perhaps it is the cheese knife which is the
problem and something I should have left at home. So I took out the knife which
was in its case and showed it to the customs lady. To my surprise she said this
was not the item and it was the bullet that she needed to examine.
So I
presented the item to the customs lady and she looked very worried. She said
put the knife away as this is okay but we do have a problem with the bullet so
she needs to call the security team to handle this situation.
She radioed
her colleague and within a minute arrived two more custom officers. One of the
man said, “This is a prohibited item to bring into Singapore and we need to
call the police to register this incident, please come with us.”
So the two
customs officers escorted me to the security office several hundred meters
away. They sat me down, one of the officers took the jewelry bullet chain into
the back room for examination while the other officer sitting at the desk in
front started filling in forms after photocopying my passport.
I stated my defensive argument to them regarding this was a jewelry item absent
gun powder, it has a chain going through the bullet so it is not possible to
use it in a gun chamber or gun magazine.
Having weapon knowledge from action movies and games, it seemed like I should shut up about
guns so I don’t tick of more red flags. The guy in front of me handed me a
pamphlet for prohibited items as I claimed my innocence
of not knowing that jewelry items were such a threat and due to the lack of
information about prohibited items at the airport.
He agreed
that the bullet is not a direct threat but still a prohibited item, and by law
he needs the police on site to examine the bullet and make the final decision
so until their arrival I must wait at this office. Luckily they were kind
enough to grant me the right to browse on the airport wireless with my iphone
so I could keep myself entertained.
So this was
a breaking story on my facebook status to keep my family and friends aware of
the thug life situation I was in. Sitting at airport security waiting for the
police (Five 0) because I got a bullet jewelry they consider dangerous.
Now the
time was 0830, the customs officer said the cops will be here in 10 to 30
minutes. We made some conversation regarding weather and rugby. As they were
interested in the New Zealand rugby team “All Blacks” after seeing my passport.
At one point I asked if I could go to the bathroom and they said in a few
minutes while they radioed for two more officers for backup. So when the
time came I had a 3 men escort to go to the men’s room. Perhaps they thought this big guy will run and the officers will need three man to tackle me (lol).
There were two officers behind me and one in front of me as we marched towards
the toilets.
Along the way walking past the baggage collection area there was an Indian
family. The father figure in that family looked at me and shook his head with
the wobble of disappointment, I suppose one man with 3 officers looks pretty
serious.
Similar
views and facial expressions of disappointment, fear, and curiosity was
witnessed along the way. Two officers guarded the door while one went inside
with me, this was beginning to play out like a scene from a movie. I concluded
with my business in the bathroom and went back to the office along with the
officers and more judgmental gazes from fellow passengers.
Soon after
the Singapore police force’s 2 officers arrived armed with hand guns in the
holster. There was an exchange of Singaporean mandarin among the police and customs
officers before some forms were presented to me. The police officer said, “The
bullet is a prohibited item and we will confiscate the item, please sign this
form of acknowledgement and you will be free to go.”
It was just
after nine now and I was hungry, sleepy and ready to get to the hotel. After
signing the document I was a free man with a Singaporean police incident record
now. Great start to the layover but you live and learn.
So always
check the prohibited items before heading to countries outside of Europe as
they have stricter rules. For example in New Zealand, you can get a fine of
NZ$200 for having mud on the sole of a packed pair of shoes.