A passenger flying from Indonesia to Australia was fined $1,874 for an undeclared McDonald’s breakfast meal.
The unnamed passenger failed to declare his McDonald’s meal at Darwin Airport, as a police dog sniffed out two McMuffins and a ham croissant, according to the New York Post.
“This will be the most expensive Maccas meal this passenger ever has,” Murray Watt, Australia’s minister in agriculture, fisheries and forestry, said in a statement regarding the incident.
He continued: “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.”
Australian government’s response
Government officials stated that the country has eradicated foot and mouth disease, and wants to make sure that it doesn’t get brought back through undeclared meat products.
The police dog who sniffed out the McDonald’s meal has been specially trained as part of Australian government’s recent crackdown on imported food.
The crackdown’s seen the government commit nearly $10 million to prosecute the illegal imports and curb the spread of the foot and mouth disease.
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While the incident and exorbitant fine seem bizarre, it’s definitely not uncommon.
Last month, an airplane passenger was fined 2,664 AUD (or around $1,844) for trying to smuggle a Subway sandwich.
The TikToker, whose real name is Jessica Lee, revealed that she was fined for not checking the “chicken” and “lettuce” boxes on the declarations form.
She shared her story on the social media platform in hopes of warning others and quickly went viral, as people were rather amused by the incident. Even Domino’s Australia commented under the video, requesting for Subway to “make this right.”
Luckily, she was sent a voucher from Subway for sandwiches reflecting the cost of the fine.
