After arriving in Sydney, Australia, an American woman was quickly detained and arrested by members of the Australian Border Force when they discovered a 24-carat gold-plated handgun in her luggage.
The border force shared the news in a press release, saying that the 28-year-old woman was arrested and charged after she got off her flight, which had departed from Los Angeles on Sunday.
The woman, who authorities did not identify in their release, had failed to declare the golden firearm and did not hold a permit to import or possess the weapon in the country.
Australia is known for having some of the strictest gun laws in the world, and now the woman is facing up to 10 years of imprisonment if she is convicted.
According to the border force, the woman was charged under 233BAB(5) of the Customs Act 1901. The act says it is illegal for a person to “intentionally”import a firearm into the country without prior approval.
ABF Enforcement and Detained Goods East Commander Justin Bathurst commended the work of his officers in discovering and locating the weapon.
“Time and time again, we have seen just how good ABF officers are at targeting and stopping illegal, and highly dangerous, goods from crossing Australia’s border,” Bathurst said.
He continued in the release, saying that the ABF is the “first and most important line of defense” for Australia.
“ABF officers are committed to protecting our community by working with law enforcement partners to prevent items like unregistered firearms from getting through at the border,” Bathurst said.
The press release shared that the woman appeared in a local court on Monday and received bail. She could possibly have her visa canceled as well as be removed from Australia, depending on how her court proceedings play out.
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