Silk Road forums
Discussion => Shipping => Topic started by: hairyballs on September 26, 2011, 02:12 am
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So I finally got around to placing my first two orders yesterday, and wake up to find out that Customs are planning a strike sometime this week.
At first I was like "yay" thinking that I have nothing to worry about, but then i realized that given our local legislation they will just delay all mail/parcels/passengers until they can be cleared properly.
I hope it doesn't mean that they will provide 'extra' scrutiny just because there are less staff? Because that's what the lady said on the tv this morning :(
Anywho, just wanted to let any other ausfags on SR whats going on...
Edit: seems like its for a few hours on tuesday, but may continue.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-25/customs-officers-to-strike-on-tuesday/2941522
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-26/cpsu-customs-staff-strike/2942148/?site=newcastle
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very doubtful its gona make the difference between any SR goodies making it through or not but still interesting, thanks for sharing
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Google and you shall find :)
The gist of it is that ACBP and AQIS staff are taking a couple of hours off to attend union meetings to be updated about pay negotiations. In regards to mail Auspost handle on average over 440,000 International per day so it is possible that only 50% of International mail gets delivered tomorrow (allowing for travel arrangement etc) But it is possible that they may catch this up as Tuesday's aren't a busy day for inbound mail (Don't ask how I know I just have "access" to some reports).
As an interesting fact to consider (which is made up of publicly available information), only 0.31% (under a third of 1%) International mail was intercepted and declared a quarantine risk (drug interceptions are initially handled by AQIS). So with the exception of flagged high risk countries eg. NL, you Ozzies appear to be unjustly scared of customs due to those Border Security shows.
If you are entering the country with half a brick of cola in condoms shoved up your ass then maybe that's a bad idea, but the odds of getting a letter through your mail system appears to be just as good as any other western country.
Ripped from AAP (Australian Associated Press???) RSS so you don't have to click a non tor link:
Passengers can expect delays at Australia's international airports on Tuesday as customs and quarantine workers stop work.
Thousands of staff at airports, ports and mail handling facilities are expected stop work for between one and two hours to attend meetings across the country.
International passengers at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Perth and Adelaide airports will be affected.
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The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has asked the federal government for a pay increase for customs, border protection and quarantine workers of four per cent a year.
The federal government has capped any pay rise at nine per cent over three years.
The CPSU argues the pay offer would actually leave workers worse off, given inflation was running at 3.6 per cent.
CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood said there would be some disruption to passengers at airports but customs and quarantine management should have contingency plans in place.
"This industrial action is a last resort for customs and quarantine staff but we've been driven to this by the federal government offering staff a pay deal that doesn't keep up with the rising cost of living," she said.
"Customs management have chosen to walk away with negotiations with the union."
There may also be delays with international mail, Ms Flood said.
She said further industrial action may be necessary if customs and quarantine management do not return to the bargaining table.
Customs and Border Protection did not wish to comment on Sunday.
In a press release issued last week, the organisation said it had contingency arrangements in place to protect the nation's borders and minimise impact on business operations.
"Our arrangements will minimise impact on our cargo and mail operations but we anticipate that there will be delays to the processing of international travellers at airports.
"Customs and Border Protection has negotiated in good faith with all bargaining representatives to propose an agreement that is affordable within its budget and within the parameters of the Australian government bargaining framework."
AAP
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Thanks rake ;D
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Hi Guys,
We Australians are not paranoid because of all those border security shows.
Aust customs, run sniffer dogs over every individual parcel, and also X-Ray every single parcel, that comes through by post or courier.
Believe me they get everything, I had some oxycontin sent over a few years back (very well packaged and the dogs can't smell Oxycontin), but the Bastards still got it.
They just let me off with a warning letter, but I will never have anything sent from overseas again.
Also the Bastards have full body scanners at the airports now.
Aust customs are some of the strictest in the world.
Good luck mate.
Cheers Morphing
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Just an update,
The CPSU will have another stop work on thursday, with possibilities of it continuing further next week.
Yes, ALL mail/parcels are still being screened, my friend who works at AusPost said there may be upto a 12-24hr rollover delay with mail handling.
So nothing major given we have slow postage anyway ;D
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very true morphing123.. I have mates who try and smuggle/ ship seeds and RC's in all the time and are getting busted every week. They are on first name basis with aqis ;D
I personally have never been caught. Few shipments of cannabis seed and 4 SR orders, one being from Netherlands. So its the risk you take I suppose.
Just have a clean house if they come knocking :)
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hey morphing123 totally agree that our border protection is some of the strictest in the world, but here is a link to an audit done on customs mail processing, although it is old I am sure that it will shed some light on how much mail they do not scan. http://anao.gov.au/~/media/Uploads/Documents/1998%2099_audit_report_15.pdf
If you don't feel like reading it, it basically says that 85% of letters are sent straight through without being scanned, and approximately 15% of letters, usually from high risk countries are scanned either with x-ray's, dogs or both. Dogs also do not work all the time. I know this has probably been modified in the last 10 years, but it is nearly logistically impossible for them to scan all the letters sent to Australia. Also it shows that sending letters is the least scanned, with OA's (other articles) such as padded envelopes and a such are more likely to be targeted. All larger parcels, EMS, and registered post are scanned 100%, although I feel this is debatable as have received seeds registered post.
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Hi Guys,
We Australians are not paranoid because of all those border security shows.
Aust customs, run sniffer dogs over every individual parcel, and also X-Ray every single parcel, that comes through by post or courier.
Believe me they get everything, I had some oxycontin sent over a few years back (very well packaged and the dogs can't smell Oxycontin), but the Bastards still got it.
They just let me off with a warning letter, but I will never have anything sent from overseas again.
Also the Bastards have full body scanners at the airports now.
Aust customs are some of the strictest in the world.
Good luck mate.
Cheers Morphing
The last thing anyone needs is paranoid garbage like this. No disrespect if you aren't LE or do actually mean well.
There is no way on earth that all parcels can be sniffed and x-rayed. How do you think the 90% of drugs in Australia that aren't manufactured locally get here?
Most vendors seem to be 80% + on AU shipments. Many buyers on here are 100%, even from the NL. Some of the packages that don't come through will be lost/stolen/ delivered to the wrong address or picked up before they leave the country of origin.
You really think they have the staff, time and money to check millions of letters/packages per week? (There are only 10,080 minutes in a week do the math) Dogs are expensive, they are absolutely dynamite at finding shit, but they are used sparingly due to the cost of training and handling them.
What is true is that AU & NZ are at the top of their game. This is becuase they have very sensitive ecosystems, big agricultural industries, low levels of introduced pests/weeds etc (so are still vulnerable to introduced nasties) and are very isolated. AQIS is the most likely agency anyone will hear from, and it is usually for plant matter/seeds/non-permitted imports of capsules containing noxioius weeds,grasses etc etc. FYI: Anything labelled an aphrodisiac, herbal remedy, tea, resin, seed, food, etc etc is almost guaranteed to be inspected.
I would bet on the fact that the gov't is more worried about quarantine than personal amounts of illicits/pharms getting into the country.
Border Patrol and all of the cop shows are propaganda machines to scare the shit out of everyone into conforming. It is much cheaper and more cost effective to scare people out of sending illegal shit or selling drugs, drink driving or whatever than it is to actually detect crime and stop it. It's all about the mindfuck! ;)
HOWEVER, of course everyone should be as careful and aware of the risks as possible. It is still a risky, stoopid thing to do for some gear!!! :)
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I would bet on the fact that the gov't is more worried about quarantine than personal amounts of illicits/pharms getting into the country.
See, you are absolutely correct in that respect. The Quarantine service are the people who check incoming goods FIRST, if any suspicious material is found then Customs is notified to do a more stringent search.
It is also true that 100% of incoming goods are x-rayed. It is different for container shipping, so don't refer to it :o
Sniffer dogs are used randomly, or with any intelligence received. Personally, due to staffing requirements I would put it below 40%.
It's hard for people from other nations to comprehend sometimes, but as AQIS says regularly, our country is very fortunate by being an island. We don't have many of the contagions that many other nations have.
That's why they are so serious (or so they say)
8)
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As far as Interpol are concerned, SR is still pretty small fry.
LE has a finite amount of resources. It has to deploy them to get the most effect/arrests/seizures/illegal products.
There are plenty of organized crime syndicates being watched by the ACC. These are the type of operations that move tonnes of product into the country. They do so usually by sea freight, but air freight is popular amongst some groups.
When you think about it, even a top dealer here (pick a name) - when you look at their history, they might sell 10-15 items in a week. Most of these will be smaller amounts. I'm tipping the average cola dealer here doesn't move more than an ounce or two in that week.
In the big international drug scene picture, this isn't much.
Remember as well that SR has a barrier to entry - technology like this is out of reach to the "average" person. When I say "average", I mean someone who might log onto Facebook every day =/= someone who can set up (or have the inclination to) PGP or even install Aurora with the Tor browser tools. Its not quite as easy as Amazon. Don't get me wrong, you and I know that it isn't that hard - but to most "average" people, this type of technology is quite daunting.
As such, there aren't that many people here. Really. They are strewn across multiple jurisdictions, all with different national (and state) laws. Its a nightmare trying to co-ordinate a joint LE response across borders. It takes a lot of IT firepower too.
Silk Road just isn't big enough yet - despite having 2 US Senators wanting to close us down. Those two idiots don't even realize that blaming BitCoins for illegal trading on Silk Road is like blaming a pencil for bad spelling.
Something to think about.
Grey
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It is also true that 100% of incoming goods are x-rayed.
I highly doubt this is logistically possible. All parcels, yes. Plus all suspicious envelopes, yes. But every single envelope that comes through to aus??? not possible. Theres just too many arriving per day for this to work....there simply isnt enough hrs ina day. If alle nvelopes were subject to XRAY NO drugs would be getting through, end of story....
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Just a heads up to any aussies on SR looking to received stuff this week:
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/customs-strike-to-delay-overseas-arrivals-20111026-1mj8w.html
International passengers are being warned to prepare for delays at Australian airports, as Customs and border protection workers get ready to walk off the job for 24 hours.
Services at Sydney, Melbourne and Perth international airports will be disrupted for up to 24 hours from midnight local time on Wednesday.
At Adelaide, Darwin, Cairns, Hobart and the Gold Coast international airports, stoppages will occur for up to four hours before the end of employees' shifts, Australian Customs and Border Protection said.
That's for October 27.