A United States citizen has faced court on customs charges after allegedly being caught with an unregistered gold-plated handgun in her luggage at Sydney airport.
The woman, 28, was charged after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers allegedly found the undeclared 24-carat gold-plated handgun on Sunday, the agency said in a statement.
The gun was allegedly unregistered and authorities claim the woman, whom they say travelled from Los Angeles, did not hold an Australian permit for it.
ABF officers charged the woman with breaches of the Customs Act that carry a maximum term of 10 years in prison, the border protection agency said.
ABF Commander Justin Bathurst said the agency’s team, helped by sophisticated detection technology, were able to stop the gun reaching the community.
“We have seen just how good ABF officers are at targeting and stopping illegal, and highly dangerous, goods from crossing Australia’s border,” he said.
The traveller fronted Downing Centre Local Court on Monday and was granted bail, according to the ABF statement.
The ABF said the woman remained subject to visa cancellation and removal from Australia, depending on the outcome of the court proceedings.
– AAP
