A travel blogger who arrived in Perth has been fined nearly $2,000 after getting off a plane in Australia with a single rose.
Lays Laraya travelled on Qatar Airways from Dubai, where she lives, and says the cabin crew gave her the flower but did not declare it.
Lays said he had been walking “conspicuously” through Perth Airport with the flower, thinking he had “nothing to hide”. But he was soon approached by plainclothes officers and asked to show them his passenger card, which everyone arriving in Australia must fill out.
It turns out the avid traveler hadn’t declared the flower in the plant section, but said she didn’t know she had to. “If I knew I was intentionally doing something wrong, I would have thrown it out sooner. I had the opportunity,” she told Insider.
The traveler reportedly shared photos and videos on her Instagram page after receiving the flower as a “thoughtful gesture,” but has since set her account to private. After detailing her mistake online, Lays said she received some criticism.
Woman fined $1,878 at Perth airport
Australia has some of the strictest biosecurity rules in the world and plants must be declared, but Lays said it “didn’t occur to me” that her rose should be included.
After a 30-minute search of her bags and personal belongings, Lays was fined $1,878 for knowingly providing false or misleading information.
A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesperson confirmed that “all travellers arriving in Australia should be aware of Australia’s strict biosecurity requirements and the penalties for failing to comply with those requirements.”
The maximum fine that can be imposed on a person is six penalty units, or $1,878, 9 News reported. “Travellers and goods arriving in Australia may introduce exotic pests and diseases,” the spokeswoman said.
“This could have a negative impact on our health, our environment and our commercial industry, so the department is taking all necessary steps to minimise and mitigate these impacts. Penalty units reflect the level of risk to Australia.”
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