RAF Smugglers!
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What a load of bollocks. I'm a Lyneham mover myself and know the two characters involved fairly well. Granted they took the piss abit with the quantities of contraband they brought back but this is the first i've heard of them using repat flights. Sounds like the Sun making up complete bollocks up as usual.
I'm a Lyneham mover myself and know the two characters involved fairly well. Granted they took the piss abit with the quantities of contraband they brought back but this is the first i've heard of them using repat flights.
I guess Lyneham crews will now have to look forward to being rummaged whenever they fly into the UK?
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hmmm
Well lets look at this, its been going on for years since Customs decided not to meet aircraft going into Brize or Lyneham!!! (or very few). It does not take much of a brain to figure out you may get away with stuff like this. They should look at what goes on out in afgan or iraq on the hercs flying round there. They say that only 8 may be involved hmmm more like 40 to make something like this work
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I seem to remember that many years ago a Vulcan was undergoing a deep strip examination and hordes of ciggies were discovered hidden in the wing that the miscreant presumably hadn't been able to recover when the aircraft landed back at base some considerable time previously.
There was some talk that it might just have been aircrew rather than ground crew.
Lesson: Everybody's at it given sufficient reward, temptation and opportunity.
There was some talk that it might just have been aircrew rather than ground crew.
Lesson: Everybody's at it given sufficient reward, temptation and opportunity.
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Greedy and stupid
There's a much better mark up on Viagra
What would be interesting would be if they are Duty Free's or 'Counterfeit Afghan Market' (even cheaper). I don't think there's a limit on the latter.
There's a much better mark up on Viagra
What would be interesting would be if they are Duty Free's or 'Counterfeit Afghan Market' (even cheaper). I don't think there's a limit on the latter.
If true, this sickens me.
This couldn't be more tasteless if the perps had pissed on the graves of our fallen heros, shame on them.
I know a family who lost a loved one doing their duty recently and I cannot imagine what their reaction to this story would be.
Shame on them again!
This couldn't be more tasteless if the perps had pissed on the graves of our fallen heros, shame on them.
I know a family who lost a loved one doing their duty recently and I cannot imagine what their reaction to this story would be.
Shame on them again!
The bit that amuses me about some of the responses on here are that they are made by the very people who probably "bent the rules" bringing back goodies from outside the EU - it wasn't that long ago that the limit was £100 of other goodies be it Webers, steaks, lawn mowers, car exhausts, sunglasses, jeans, CDs etc etc etc regardless of whether they from a BX or not. And if I remember correctly the operating crew allowance was zero!
This incident has been made to sound worse because it is ciggies as well as a bit (by the sounds of it) of artistic licence by the Sun. Would the Sun have been interested if it had been routine stuff (i.e not ciggies / alcohol) bought back following an exercise in the States. I doubt it.
A couple of chancers pushed their luck, got caught, and if found guilty will get due punishment. Where it will hurt is if HMRC now do a full Red/Green channel on all returning flights.
This incident has been made to sound worse because it is ciggies as well as a bit (by the sounds of it) of artistic licence by the Sun. Would the Sun have been interested if it had been routine stuff (i.e not ciggies / alcohol) bought back following an exercise in the States. I doubt it.
A couple of chancers pushed their luck, got caught, and if found guilty will get due punishment. Where it will hurt is if HMRC now do a full Red/Green channel on all returning flights.
There seems to be a few posters on here who seem to condone smuggling, as long as it is in small quantities. I'm not going to jump on the outrage express but just for the record if you bring in any quantity over the HMRC limit, or sell-on your duty-free, then you have broken the law - it's your choice.
It is real temptation for the badly-paid boys and girls who work as cabin crew for airlines to succumb to the special-offer on 400 cigarettes in order to make a few extra quid by selling them on to friends. Where I work now the company will instantly dismiss any employee caught over their limit, regardless of any HMRC involvement. No formal warning, no lesser administrative or disciplinary action - simply instant dismissal. In that climate you know the risk and you make your own choice. Sensible people will not even take a risk on: "Not taking cigs? Will you take these for me?".
If this story is true, then I'm sure that there will be prosecutions as HMRC will regard an organized racket by professionals with access to air-freight as a serious offence. However, it might be worth reflecting that this kind of thing could well have roots in a collective view that 'small amounts are ok, aren't they?'
It is real temptation for the badly-paid boys and girls who work as cabin crew for airlines to succumb to the special-offer on 400 cigarettes in order to make a few extra quid by selling them on to friends. Where I work now the company will instantly dismiss any employee caught over their limit, regardless of any HMRC involvement. No formal warning, no lesser administrative or disciplinary action - simply instant dismissal. In that climate you know the risk and you make your own choice. Sensible people will not even take a risk on: "Not taking cigs? Will you take these for me?".
If this story is true, then I'm sure that there will be prosecutions as HMRC will regard an organized racket by professionals with access to air-freight as a serious offence. However, it might be worth reflecting that this kind of thing could well have roots in a collective view that 'small amounts are ok, aren't they?'
Speak for yourself, wrathmonk - I was always scrupulously honest with HMRC and they never, ever shafted me. In fact they would often charge far less than perhaps they should have.
One Christmas I 'self declared' a fair amount of stuff from the USA via the 'blank cheque and honesty box' system at Brize - they never charged me a penny.
mams, if what you say is true (and I hope it isn't), then perhaps the SIB and HMRC will be on the case pretty schnell. As indeed they should.
On the way from Deci back to Wattisham, I once witnessed a VC10 navigator trying to have a conversation with a casualty on a stretcher after we'd bent into Wildenrath for an aeromed case - bloke was plumbed into a drip and surrounded by anxious-looking Paraffins.....
"Are you taking any duty free home, mate?", was the navigator's opening comment......
Chief Paraffin was most assuredly NOT happy!
One Christmas I 'self declared' a fair amount of stuff from the USA via the 'blank cheque and honesty box' system at Brize - they never charged me a penny.
mams, if what you say is true (and I hope it isn't), then perhaps the SIB and HMRC will be on the case pretty schnell. As indeed they should.
On the way from Deci back to Wattisham, I once witnessed a VC10 navigator trying to have a conversation with a casualty on a stretcher after we'd bent into Wildenrath for an aeromed case - bloke was plumbed into a drip and surrounded by anxious-looking Paraffins.....
"Are you taking any duty free home, mate?", was the navigator's opening comment......
Chief Paraffin was most assuredly NOT happy!
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Evanelpus - you have jumped aboard the outrage bus exactly as I expected the average Sun reader would.
The fact they were smuggling is the story - the possible crime. Not that they may have used flights (amongst others) that were being used for repatriation. Tell me you don't think we have the capacity to fly the deceased back on their own airframe - please.
The fact they were smuggling is the story - the possible crime. Not that they may have used flights (amongst others) that were being used for repatriation. Tell me you don't think we have the capacity to fly the deceased back on their own airframe - please.
"What would be interesting would be if they are Duty Free's or 'Counterfeit Afghan Market' (even cheaper). I don't think there's a limit on the latter."
If you wanted to go by what (as a civilian) you're allowed, UK customs wise, then yes there's no limit (other than that it has to be for personal consumption) but you have to provide proof of purchase and proof that they are tax paid. Your chogie cleaner at BAS won't be able to provide you with either. So either way the bottom line is, it's an allowance of 200.
Avoid imitations
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The reason? Some brave little soldier had filled spaces in some pongo machinery with contraband, then bodge taped over them......
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while we're at it, shall we try and justify insurance fraud too? to those who think that any kind of "it's over the allowance but that's ok" - it is tax evasion! "i claimed on my insurance, because every does" is a similarly asinine argument.
The Sun has used the typical BNP style journalism to work the public opinion up into a frenzy and it seems to have worked; even on this forum. shall we now condemn all movers and hang them? f**k it, let's go get the gibbet; why let the facts get in the way of a good public beheading? Or shall we wait and see the actual facts and let the disciplinary process work its course; like several others suggest?
People may think i am standing on some kind of moral high ground, but i, like many, own a piece of paper signed by the Queen (i know it's a stamp/copy) that quite clearly says "honesty" in amongst the text.
Rant over......and breathe
The Sun has used the typical BNP style journalism to work the public opinion up into a frenzy and it seems to have worked; even on this forum. shall we now condemn all movers and hang them? f**k it, let's go get the gibbet; why let the facts get in the way of a good public beheading? Or shall we wait and see the actual facts and let the disciplinary process work its course; like several others suggest?
People may think i am standing on some kind of moral high ground, but i, like many, own a piece of paper signed by the Queen (i know it's a stamp/copy) that quite clearly says "honesty" in amongst the text.
Rant over......and breathe
I think there's reasonable chance that these were freight!
We used to scan all MFO boxes, freight etc at BAS... we'd let nothing through unaccompanied (and many would try mailing 1000 fags home at a time in the post, a big no-no) but we would turn a blind eye to the passengers carrying the odd extra carton or two at check in.
Of course once we'd scanned MFO's etc, we sealed them, and they went into the Movers secure yard for onward shipping. After that, it's down to the movers to keep them secure, and HM Customs to check the seals in the UK.
UK Customs have allowed us some leeway for many years now at major airheads and the seals never got checked, maybe that'll change in light of this.
Actually, for once on PPRuNe, this hasn't degenerated into a 'mover bashing' thread.
It is clear that the vast majority of decent Air Movs personnel are as equally appalled as everyone else; perhaps they are best placed to root out the miscreants?
ShyTorque, learn about weight and balance and you'll find that it doesn't take much to exceed CG limits if loaded on the ramp.....
It is clear that the vast majority of decent Air Movs personnel are as equally appalled as everyone else; perhaps they are best placed to root out the miscreants?
ShyTorque, learn about weight and balance and you'll find that it doesn't take much to exceed CG limits if loaded on the ramp.....