| nycalt |
| () |
| 07/08/04 01:55 AM |
 Re: Package Opened By Customs
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Quote:
So I guess that they just are giving a subtle warning nowdays. A couple of years ago they would just take the meds., and then send a warning letter in your mail box.
Maybe they are realy busy. I remember when the FDA did a customs inspection a few months back they supposedly found a few thousand packages (in one day) of prescription meds. so they have got to be bogged down with work in the mail inspection department.
But, when they open up a package and insert another document in it, and then close it back up, so you cant tell that they inserted it... That is scary!
Imagine someone taking a divorce letter, pulling it out, reading it,and then putting a love letter in its place. Then seal it up so no one can tell.
Also, when they do this, they have to be documenting it... date, package, contents, person, is probably being documented. So there is a cause for concern if they are doing that.
We are way off topic now but I just wanted to post some clarifications to this and your previous post about blowing off seizure letters since both contain some serious inaccuracies. I have a friend who works in U.S. Customs at JFK and I just verified all this with him.
Seizure letters are no big deal unless you contest them, except that you may be out of the money for the seized meds.
There is no record kept of them, no kind of database where people who received seizure notices are kept or any such thing.
In fact the best thing to do, besides maybe making a copy and sending to the IOP so you can get a reship or a refund, is to blow off the seizure letter, Don’t contest it and otherwise you need not give it another thought.
Packages seized are tagged and kept for varying period of time depending on what exactly was seized and why but no longer than a year, in case you want to contest the seizure. Doing so, by the way admits liability and copability (it would be quie clear you requested the package seized) and could run into serious trouble unless you really know what you are doing (like you know what was seized was not illegal to import).
The time Customs keeps them is often much less than a year for things like perishable items; not just drugs get seized you know. Illegal to import fruits and vegetables among other things are also candidates for seizure.
Finally, anytime something is opened by U.S. Customs and is allowed to pass (by the way, sometimes only part of the package will be seized and the rest repacked and shipped on) it is clearly indicated so on the outside if the package as required by U.S. law.
So packages aren’t being opened and having notes slipped into them by Customs …. Not quite sure where you got that idea since the member who started this thread clearly indicated that the package was stamped “Opened by Customs.” In fact doing so, to quote my friend, “is not only grounds for major disciplinary action but also a felony.”
