Limerick man pleads guilty to importing imitation guns

mike kelly

curious story in the Irish Times today. I didn't realise that luggage (not hand luggage) on planes was scanned by security. These type of imitation guns are freely available on the continent so how is it possible to get a suspended sentence in Ireland for importing them?

Henry Ford III

Clearly they are illegal, and can be modified to fire live rounds.

mike kelly

is all luggage on planes which land in Ireland examined by airport security?

Itsdacraic

mike kelly wrote: »

curious story in the Irish Times today. I didn't realise that luggage (not hand luggage) on planes was scanned by security. These type of imitation guns are freely available on the continent so how is it possible to get a suspended sentence in Ireland for importing them?

Ya, you have to go through customs when you land in Shannon, although it's usually unmanned! They may have been tipped off by Spainish authorities or else he was just "unlucky".

I've been questioned coming back from places in the past and had my bags searched. No big deal.

mike kelly

Itsdacraic wrote: »

Ya, you have to go through customs when you land in Shannon, although it's usually unmanned! They may have been tipped off by Spainish authorities or else he was just "unlucky".

I've been questioned coming back from places in the past and had my bags searched. No big deal.

so no automatic luggage scanning then? I remember hearing on Liveline a few yaers back about people complaining about young lads bringing back these guns from Spain. Maybe they specifically look out for them on flights coming from Spain now.

Itsdacraic

mike kelly wrote: »

so no automatic luggage scanning then? I remember hearing on Liveline a few yaers back about people complaining about young lads bringing back these guns from Spain. Maybe they specifically look out for them on flights coming from Spain now.

Ya, anytime I've been searched or questioned it was coming off flights from Spain and once coming from Brussells were they asked if I'd been to Amsterdam, so I assume they just concentrate on the "high risk" areas. If I'm wearing my suit I never get stopped, it's only when I've changed back into casual clothes before the flight I've been questioned.

neo2010

I actually never knew they scanned bags.

A good lot of people I know always bring cigarettes and pellet guns back from Spain or Portugal. Others I know brought home swords and knifes - ornamental like but still they got away with it.

Is this a new thing or have they always checked?

mike kelly

neo2010 wrote: »

I actually never knew they scanned bags.

A good lot of people I know always bring cigarettes and pellet guns back from Spain or Portugal. Others I know brought home swords and knifes - ornamental like but still they got away with it.

Is this a new thing or have they always checked?

that's what I'm wondering too

krudler

The customs desk in Shannon is a joke, I've never seen anyone sitting at it in all the years I've flown into there, and the guy checking the passports? he doesnt even look! last time I came back from the states we were all shuffling along as this dinosaur was supposed to be looking at the passports, I purposefully held my finger over my picture so you couldnt see it, held up my passport and he looked at it then waved me on, what a clown. Granted without a passport I would have never gotten on the flight to begin with, but still, you go to America and its a completely different situation, this country cant do anything right

Itsdacraic

There is no automatic scanning of luggage at the arrival point, the scanning of luggage is the responsibilty of the country at the point of departure hence the big furore over the explosives from Slovakia (?) a few weeks back.

Customs at Shannon is a joke alright, more often than not the customs channel is unmanned. As regards the guy checking the passports, he actually a dectective assigned from the Immigration Bureau, so I'd imagine they pull straws to see who gets landed out there for the day.