April 23 (UPI) — A Colorado woman traveling home from France was charged $500 because she was in possession of an apple.
On a flight from Paris to Denver, Delta Airlines staff handed out apples for an in-flight snack and Crystal Tadlock put hers in her purse to save for later. But once she carried the apple onto U.S. grounds, a customs agent said she broke a customs rule by not declaring the free fruit, even though it was still wrapped in Delta packaging.
“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 Fox 31-TV. “It’s really unfortunate someone has to go through that and be treated like a criminal over a piece of fruit.”
Tadlock said Delta should have been more diligent about warning passengers to not carry produce off the plane. But a Delta official told the Washington Post that food “is given with intention you consume it on board.”
In a statement, Delta said they “encourage customers to follow U.S. Customs and Border Protection protocols.”
