rfrost

Yes, back in the mid-80's when the dollar was almighty and I'd go over with one empty suitcase and return wih two full ones. I was returning from Paris (I think after a January sale) and leaving later that day for NYC but even back then, I didn't want to trust my precious new purchases to the vagaries of an interline transfer and so was wheeling my trolley with two suitcases and a shopping bag from some Paris boutique or other through Customs when I was stopped. I just laughed, flashed my passport and explained what I was doing and why. They asked to see my ticket, which i showed them. They asked if I were going to leave any of the items in the UK, and I laughed some more and said no, and they sent me on my way.

SkiAdcock

Yup. I'm only over about 4x/year, but each time someone is having their stuff searched at the inspection table when I walk by at T3 customs - look like they could be from India, Arab countries, Africa, etc.

Cheers.

Captain Schmidt

this has got to be a better strategy for using limited resources. i couldn't care less whether someone goes on a shopping spree in NY and brings back goods over the limit without paying duty, however i do care if they import 10kg of coke.

RichardInSF

Once. On the way to SFO, I passed a fruit stand selling a 30lb crate of wonderful looking oranges for $10 so I bought it for our UK office and checked it. I didn't see any signs saying no-no so went through the green lane, was stopped, and was apologetically offered the option of either (a) producing a phyto-sanitation certificate or (b) surrendering the oranges.

Since I didn't know what (a) was, I chose (b). I exited customs and immediately to my left was a stand selling orange juice from oranges that were being freshly squeezed by a machine. To this day, I've wondered....

P.S. The customs officer told me that there was one small print sign somewhere in the baggage area that said this was not allowed.

P.P.S. No problems at all bringing a crate of cherries into ARN a few months later.

pdx42

It's almost a joke....99.99 percent breeze through. But I have seen people stopped; and they weren't pleased. One woman in her 40's stood by plaintively as her suitcases - wide open - were inspected by officers. Another time, there was a cry of racism by a passenger when Customs officials pulled a man out of the exit queue to inspect his belongings. I could hear the guy shouting as I exited the secure area of T3.

RoseFPS

I got stopped coming back from a back to back mileage run to Prague. I only had a very small shoulder bag with me as I just got straight back on the same plane back to London again. Got pulled over at customs in T1 and asked where I had travelled from, and how long I had been away for.

I said I'd been in Prague for about 40 minutes. He asked what industry I work in. I told him Film Production. And he said Oh that's Ok then, go ahead - as if that explained everything....

I was quite glad not to have to get into explaining what a milage run was and why i'd just flown straight back again.

Swanhunter

Arriving by air, never. Arriving at Dover after a day trip for cheese and wine I was pulled and the car given a vigorous search. As I went over late afternoon and came back 6 hours later I can see why 2 young blokes in an estate car could have been a target.

Redhead

I landed in LHR from Geneva on the day that they bombed Harrod's back in 1992. I was a US citizen/student living in Geneva for a year and was popping over to London to visit a fellow American on her Junior Year Abroad. I had red hair and blue eyes and was questioned for 30 minutes. Every 3rd question was either "Where in Ireland are you from?" or "Where in Ireland are your parents from?". I don't have a drop of Irish blood (I'm English, Welsh & German) but it took 30 minutes for them to believe me.

Jimmie76

Coming back off a family holiday a good few years ago I was taking all the cases (5 or 6 big bags) through the green channel whilst the others were using the facilities in the Baggage Reclaim hall. I was almost immediately pulled over and asked where I had been etc. when the rest of the family turned up and asked what was going on. After ascertaining that these weren't all my bags, and that I was travelling with other people I was told I could go.

Two possible urban myths: Someone told me that they had a relative who had fallen asleep in the baggage reclaim after collecting their bags and woke up a few hours later. Going through customs as normal they were searched from top to toe and had every bit of their luggage inspected, because they were a) so late coming through after the flight had landed and b) going through at the same time as arriving flights from the Caribbean and South America.

Someone else, at Uni said they had gone on a days booze cruise to France and had borrowed a van with some mates to stock up for the coming term. They had managed to get some limited booze but the card they were using had reached it's limit so they had to stop shopping. At Calais they got stuck for a couple of days thanks to a strike (truck drivers?) and started to drink what they had bought. They eventually arrived at Dover with a now almost empty van, only to be searched very thoroughly by customs who thought a group of lads in an nearly empty white van, very suspicious.

gnaget

When I arrive in the evening (9-10 pm) at T3 customs they are frequently shaking down people of Indian or ME origin who are carting trolleys piled high with luggage. Once I saw them score a major find as they opened a large suitcase full of Benson & Hedges cartons.

knifeandfork

As with most sophisticated things in life, it's a matter of emphasis. Others have commented that HMRC profile people ruthlessly, and the big stuff they take down is intelligence lead.

I agree, it does sometimes strike me as odd that tables (especially in T3, when I'm flying Star) always seem to be empty and no one's getting turned over. I always have a mild moment of panic as I go through as I don't think I've ever knowingly been under my duties allowance and the limit for goods brought abroad is laughably low. But I've never been tugged in well over 250 arrivals at LHR.

I really think this is a situation where just because you don't see them it really doesn't mean they're not watching you. Remember, on landing in LHR you are entering the world headquarters of CCTV. If they want you, they'll find you and they'll have you. I for one prefer this low key approach, rather than suffer officious twunts in uniforms bigging themselves up, as they do elsewhere. Australia and New Zealand are particular offenders in that regard.

Re ADL: I love Wingnut dearly, but it'll be a warm day in Rochdale before I travel on the same PNR as him to Australia.

IRLConor

I was stopped by a HMRC man somewhere between the international and domestic bits of T1. He was not in uniform and I was the only one that I saw him stopping. He stopped me politely, handed me his ID so that I could get a good look at it, asked me where I was traveling to and from and if I had anything in my bags that he might be interested in. Once I had answered he thanked me for my time and wished me a safe trip.

I was well impressed at the gentle, professional manner in which he conducted his business. Very effective too, I probably would have told him a lot more than a uniformed goon, it would have felt rude not to.

The only other extraordinary contact with officials I've had entering the UK has been in the bad old days. Then they were wearing DPM, carrying assault rifles and didn't care too much about duty free limits. :-/

milepig

I've never been stopped myself, but it seems like they have someone pulled over every time I go through. They tend to be either student types or people with a million pounds of luggage tied up with twine.

I've heard that they target AMS flights, and thought I'd get pulled over that day, but they were much more interested in the 90% of the pax who were brits in their early 20s who obviously hadn't slept during their 3 day holiday to the sin city.

Now, the place where I have NEVER seen anybody watching the green lane is Amsterdam. Ever. Always unmanned.

stut

Sometimes I wonder about human nature, as demonstrated on flyertalk.

If you have a US/Oz/Kiwi-style, heavy-handed customs area, it is window dressing, manned by 'goons'.

If you have a UK-style, surveillance- and intelligence-based customs, then it is a 'joke' as nobody is visible or visibly stopped.

So which is it to be? Or is it a case of "stop lots of people, just not me as I'm clearly innocent..."

sadiqhassan

Nope - and I have carried through some pretty suspicious looking (not actually suspicious ) stuff. On my last trip I had five (yes, five) pieces of luggage including a carton and I just walked past the officers. They didn't seem to care.

slightly OT, I have been stopped at immigration as a british citizen with all my travel documents in order. Why? because I was only 17 and the customs agent didn't trust me to take the HEX home by myself. I didn't even know that it was their responsibility / concern.

Cheers