An influencer said she was fined $1,200 after walking through an Australian airport with a rose in hand — given to her by an airline

23.08.2023 - 03:17 / insider.com

A travel blogger who flew from Qatar to Australia said she was given an over $1,200 fine after walking through the airport with a gifted rose and forgetting to properly mark it on her passenger card.

Lays Laraya told Insider she received the fine for violating the country's Biosecurity Act after being randomly screened by two plainclothes officials at Perth Airport, but maintains her innocence. Laraya told Insider that she had been "visibly" walking around the airport with the rose and did not try to sneak the flower into the country.

"I had nothing to hide," Laraya told Insider.

Laraya, who documents her travels as Skywardsfreak on Instagram and YouTube, told Insider she received the rose as a thoughtful gesture after writing notes for all the crew members and pilots on her Qatar Airways flight. Laraya said she often saves the gifts that she receives from crew members and does not blame the Qatari airline for the situation.

After hopping on the flight to Australia and landing at Perth Airport, Laraya said she held the rose in her hand because she did not want to damage it. She also posted a video with the rose on Instagram, which she said is now private because she had received many negative comments after sharing her story.

Before she reached immigration, Laraya said two men in civilian clothes approached her.

"As a single woman traveling, I don't know if I developed my defense mechanisms, so I was like, 'Whoa, that's intimidating.' I said that to them because I didn't know they were officials. And I'm like, 'What the heck is going on here?'"

She said the two people ordered her to follow them, asking for her passport and phone in the process. They eventually showed her their badges. Laraya said she did not understand why they had pulled her aside but complied.

During this encounter, Laraya said she was dressed as Barbie — with a pink dress and blonde wig — and wondered if they had profiled her for her outfit.

"He was like, 'No, we don't profile people based on appearance,'" Laraya said.

Laraya said one agent then asked that she complete her incoming passenger card — which asks recent arrivals a series of questions, including whether or not they are bringing plants.

"It didn't pass through my mind that the rose was within the category of those plants that they would be looking right," Laraya said. "So my mistake, my mistake. I check 'no' and that was their accusation in the end."

After a series of inquiries — some of which included questions about her marital status and salary that she said she felt were "inappropriate" — and 30 minutes of inspecting every piece of her luggage, Laraya said another worker returned with her passenger card and the rose.

"She puts the landing card in front of me and