The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #64094   Message #2350628
Posted By: The Fooles Troupe
27-May-08 - 09:16 PM
Thread Name: BS: Fools In The Real World
Subject: RE: BS: Fools In The Real World
FITRW: Gifts from Tokyo Customs!
        

Boy, they REALLY make tourists feel welcome here!
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080527/15/17156.html

TOKYO (Reuters) - One of the travelers who arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport over the weekend may have picked up an unusual souvenir from customs -- a package of cannabis.

A customs official hid the package in a suitcase belonging to a passenger arriving from Hong Kong as a training exercise for sniffer dogs Sunday, but lost track of both drugs and suitcase during the practice session, a spokeswoman for Tokyo customs said.

Customs regulations specify that a training suitcase be used for such exercises, but the official said he had used passengers' suitcases for similar purposes in the past, domestic media reported.

"The dogs have always been able to find it before," NHK quoted him as saying. "I became overconfident that it would work."

Anyone who finds the package should contact Tokyo customs as soon as possible, the spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; editing by Sophie Hardach)