The theft of items in baggage is well chronicled. When I got to the Intercontinental Hotel in Johannesburg, I did a quick check to see if anything was missing .

Nothing was missing that I could tell. However , I did find a surprise . There were two items in my bags that were not mine . Clearly someone had been in my bags .

I plan on reporting it when I get back .

Anything fun or interesting? Chrome-plated sex toy (which I would dispose of with rubber gloves on, were it me!)

quote:

Originally posted by sdirks:
Anything fun or interesting? Chrome-plated sex toy (which I would dispose of with rubber gloves on, were it me!)

No. A roll of some kind of adhesive tape and a small blue plastic container .

Bizarre.

Larry, I would suggest that you burn the stuff and triple disinfect everything that was in the luggage with it.

Paranoia serves a purpose sometimes.

Good point Michael.

Actually, this brings up another point.

What happens if they do put some illegal items in your bag, and try to catch you outside?

If the customs did not!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Actually, this brings up another point.

What happens if they do put some illegal items in your bag, and try to catch you outside?

If the customs did not!

I have often thought of this while watching “To Catch a Smuggler.”

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Actually, this brings up another point.

What happens if they do put some illegal items in your bag, and try to catch you outside?

If the customs did not!

I have often thought of this while watching “To Catch a Smuggler.”

The most stupid one of these shows is the Australian and New Zealand ones.

Run by utterly brainless nitwits.

Last week a woman was fine $2000 for carrying a rose she was given by the plane crew because it was their anniversary!

Why they couldn't just have taken away from her and end the story?

Larry: Were your bags zippered or do you use hard side luggage with no zippers? If zippered, wondering if they got into your bags in Joburg upon arrival there, or somewhere else in Africa. Doesn't sound like a U.S. issue, but you never know nowadays.

Same thing happened to me in June, except they did steal a couple of things.

I would be more concerned about something put in my bag than something missing from it!

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Larry: Were your bags zippered or do you use hard side luggage with no zippers? If zippered, wondering if they got into your bags in Joburg upon arrival there, or somewhere else in Africa. Doesn't sound like a U.S. issue, but you never know nowadays.

Soft side with zippers . Inside was full of smaller zippered bags .

When I got to Atlanta , I got on an earlier flight due to the hurricane . I flew standby. As a result , one of my bags didn’t make it with me .

A lady from Delta called to check on the bag and whether I was happy with the service . I told her of the situation . She was horrified . She also indicated that this information would be passed to a higher level.

This actually went on in some East Asian country, not sure if it was Thailand or the Philippine a few years ago.

Customs officers put 22 rimfire ammo in passenger cases when pretending to inspect them.

They were let off after paying an on the spot cash fine.

I understand they got caught out when a passenger insisted to see their supervisors.

In case anyone was wondering, this is what was left in my bag.

The blue case appears to be for a mouth guard or dentures of some kind. The tape looks like tape.

Who the hell would put that in someone’s luggage?

As you say, Larry, weird.

quote:

Who the hell would put that in someone’s luggage?

Baggage handler or one of the huge number of people wandering around the ramp and “secure” area of OR Tambo. We have a 3 hour layover today in Joburg, last three trips with layovers, some shorter, some longer, one or both of our bags have been broken into. I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t happen this time, too.

I cannot see what Larry posted, despite trying several browsers .

Must be geographically restricted.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I cannot see what Larry posted, despite trying several browsers .

Must be geographically restricted.

Sent it to you…

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
The blue case appears to be for a mouth guard or dentures of some kind. The tape looks like tape.

Who the hell would put that in someone’s luggage?

As you say, Larry, weird.

I absolutely agree. Very odd at minimum.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
The blue case appears to be for a mouth guard or dentures of some kind. The tape looks like tape.

Who the hell would put that in someone’s luggage?

As you say, Larry, weird.

Larry’s luggage must have been traveling with a boxer’s.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
The blue case appears to be for a mouth guard or dentures of some kind. The tape looks like tape.

Who the hell would put that in someone’s luggage?

As you say, Larry, weird.

Larry’s luggage must have been traveling with a boxer’s.

Sounds right too.

Teeth protector and healing bandages!

They must have open several bags at once and weren’t sure what came out of which!

A friend in Texas years ago had several stereos stolen from his car.

He rigged one with some sort of explosive.

It was his job.

Came back one day and found the stereo in pieces and lots of blood!

I have no problems applying the Saudis rule on robberies.

Cut off the hand!

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
The blue case appears to be for a mouth guard or dentures of some kind. The tape looks like tape.

Who the hell would put that in someone’s luggage?

As you say, Larry, weird.

This was weird enough by itself . However , when one considers where I found one of these items , it seems even stranger to me.

I have a Red Ox duffel . Inside the duffel were a number of smaller bag, each zipped up. The roll of whatever it was seems to have been thrown in the Red Ox bag. However , the mouth piece was placed inside one of the smaller zipped bags. It had to be placed there.

That is just bizarre!

Perhaps somewhere in Africa there is a guy Googling "Blue mouth guard and tape" and having a laugh?

quote:

Originally posted by KevinNY:
Perhaps somewhere in Africa there is a guy Googling "Blue mouth guard and tape" and having a laugh?

Googling things can lead to trouble.

Not sure how many of you remember this.

A claimed professor from Australia was googling black mamba.

She landed on AR.

She was one of those idiots who thought too much of herself, and hated hunters.

She sent me a nasty email.

in it was her full name, claimed to be professor of something at an Australian university, and all the details.

I posted her letter here, and sent her a link.

The reaction here wasn't what she had expected.

So she wrote me another email, demanding I take that thread down, because he had not given me permission to share it.

I wrote her back, telling as I have never asked her opinion, and she took it upon her sorry stupidity to get involved in things of no concern to her, she can bloody well enjoy the show.

Some members wrote to her university.

The answer we got back back that she was NOT a professor, and her claim of all sorts of things turned out to nothing but fictions of her imagination!

So be careful what you for on Google!

Like Saeed I worry that some ISIS baggage handler in Johannesburg could slip a pound of C4 and a simple timing device into some USA tourist’s bag heading back to the USA. Since it’s a long flight to the USA, it would be easy enough to set the timer for 3-4 hours after takeoff. A midair explosion over the Atlantic would result in a catastrophic loss of life and be virtually untraceable.

quote:

Originally posted by Bud Meadows:
Like Saeed I worry that some ISIS baggage handler in Johannesburg could slip a pound of C4 and a simple timing device into some USA tourist’s bag heading back to the USA. Since it’s a long flight to the USA, it would be easy enough to set the timer for 3-4 hours after takeoff. A midair explosion over the Atlantic would result in a catastrophic loss of life and be virtually untraceable.

The more I think about it, the more disturbing and possible that scenario seems.

Baggage handlers are indeed a potential weak link in airport security systems.

One hopes they are subject to the most rigorous background checks imaginable.

On the other hand, how much confidence can we have in them (or how they are vetted) when at Johannesburg many are well-documented thieves!

Exactly^^^!!!

We jump through all these hoops and everyone knows it is really a farce if some group was really motivated…so many holes!

Hell…all it took was $2 worth of box-cutters and people trained to be complacent in 2001.