A relative of mine bought a folding pocket knife with a three-inch blade. When he returned to Trinidad the customs officer pulled him aside and questioned him about this knife because the brand was Smith and Wesson. The issue was that Smith and Wesson also made guns. Smith and Wesson, Glock, Colt and everyone else who manufacture firearms also have lifestyle stores where they sell items like shirts, watches, knives, hats, wrist bands and many other products not related to firearms.
The fact that this officer related a pocket knife to a gun either shows his lack of training in customs or his ignorance to the world at large. Another custom officer had an issue with the brandname Tactical knee pads and wanted to seize it.
No wonder why criminals could export drugs in orange juice cans, because our Customs Department needs training on what is contraband and what isn't. Another factor in this episode is the way these officers deal with the public. Not everyone is a criminal. Why is it that the US customs treat you with respect but in our own country they treat you like animals?
These Trinidadian officers should get training in public relations before they are let loose on the public. I wonder what would have happened if he bought a Glock watch? They might have seized it thinking it could shoot off a hand.
Elaine Peters,
Marabella