An Indian actress who claims she didn’t know she had to declare a garland of flowers she travelled with has been hit with a $2,000 fine after landing in Australia.
Navya Nair, who had travelled from Kochi in India to Singapore before her final leg onwards to Melbourne on Saturday, was carrying a jasmine gajra garland by her father to wear in her hair on her flight.
Given the likelihood of the flowers withering during the lengthy journey, Nair’s father gave his daughter a second garland for her arrival in Australia, which she kept in her carry-on baggage.
“He told me to keep the second one in my handbag so I could wear it on the onward journey from Singapore,” Nair said, a local news website reported. “I put it in my carry bag.” 4
Nair didn’t declare the flowers upon arrival, a