by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:51 PM ET, Wed August 3, 2022
An airline passenger who arrived in Australia from Indonesia was fined nearly $2,000 for transporting McDonalds breakfast sandwiches through an international airport.
According to ABCNews.com, the unidentified traveler landed in Darwin, Australia, after a flight from Bali, Indonesia, when he was stopped by a newly trained biosecurity detector dog named Zinta.
When security checked through the passenger's luggage, they found two egg and beef sausage McMuffins and a ham croissant, as well as travel-safe hot cakes. Australia has food policies in place to avoid introducing foot and mouth disease to the country.
As a result of the undeclared food, the traveler received a fine of $1,846 and his meal was destroyed after officials tested it for any potential foreign diseases.
"This will be the most expensive [McDonald's] meal this passenger ever has," Australian minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt told ABC News. "This fine is twice the cost of an airfare to Bali, but I have no sympathy for people who choose to disobey Australia's strict biosecurity measures, and recent detections show you will be caught."
The airport's biosecurity detector dog was funded as part of a multi-million-dollar program developed by the Australian government to add more biosecurity monitoring at mail centers and airports, including specially-trained dogs.
"Biosecurity is no joke-it helps protect jobs, our farms, food and supports the economy," Watt continued. "Passengers who choose to travel need to make sure they are fulfilling the conditions to enter Australia, by following all biosecurity measures."
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