Customs Dodges

[Lewis McColl]

My first ship was ED's m/v Owerri, joined in Belfast. The 5er says to me Purify up some diesel tonight so the service tank is full for the morning.
We had what was called a Sharples purifier, I a m sure some of the engineers on here will know them. Anyway they area long tube with a removable baffle plate.
I was told it was all lined up and ready to go. Started it up , what a racket. Stopped it and opened it up. A load of broken glass and brown sludge of what was obviously Whiskey and Tobacco poured out. The 4/th Eng was not happy.

[Bill Cameron]

Doc,
I never was in the Rummage crew, I did 11 years in whisky bottling plants / distilleries, then I went into admin, did clerical work for a few years, then went into the intelligence side of the job, catching bootleggers/ vat fraudsters, but had a few big drug jobs, then I went into estates management and retired as the Transport Manager for Scotland , Northern Ireland and Wales, and I cannot drive a car, but I could drive a computer

[robpage]

On the pendennis Castle one of the assistants stewards had created an extra pipe in his cabin containing the thin cigarettes as somebody suggested earlier he done a really good job over it it was lagged painted and looked like part of the cabin until the rummage squad leaned on it

[j.sabourn]

One of my in laws now passed away worked in the vat dept. after retiring she was quite often called upon to act as a dummey drugs runner to test the security at various airports don’t think she got through too many times. The only time I was aware of someone getting through with anything was the cook when he put small ladies cocktail watches inside the Windsor knotof his tie , when the old dakotas were running Hamburg to Newcastle and the buildings were a hut in a field. JWS

[happy daze john in oz]

One guy on the Windsor put an extra load of smokes inside a bag of very dirty laundry.
Left it on his bunk when the customs came on board, one guy began to open it then changed his mind.
Great thought Ginger, got away with it.

Well he did until we were going down the gangway and some of us stopped again for a second search.
Ginger was kacking himself and the customs guy must have known it by his face.

They made him pull all his clothes out of his suit case and lay them on the quayside.
With a stick they moved all until they came to the dirty laundry bag, Ginger was sprung.

With the stick they pulled the bag open and out popped the smokes.
I made a very discreet exit while he dealt with the problem.

But of course we always thought it was the duty of all seamen to try and beat the customs men.

[Ronald Maben]

I don't smoke now I stopped 13 years ago I had a heart attack 17 years since I had a drink all the lads down the same R 874850

[robpage]

Where I use a walking frame to do some very short indoor distances I don't have a drink more than one top because I'm wobbly enough as it is I gave up smoking 30 years ago when the price went up to £2 a packet which I thought was Ludacris now I believe that my daughter is paying almost £10 a packet

[Evan Lewis]

I was to young to actually know for certain, always heard the tale as a kid ( MODERN: Urban Myth ) That Barry Customs had two sinks one used as norm, the other for contriband. a sterile sink was apparently to cover the legal side. It is said that the law at the time omly reccomended that customs should dispose of such liquid by tippng down said sink. Truly, apparently such goods were disposed of in such a manner, but went down a seperate sink - With retention containers at the other end of the pipe. Other goods please revert back to the Blue Lamp etc.

Re the above.

Have been nursing this injustice,ever since joining my first ship.Early '49.
Had joined the Brazen Head ,at Sharpness. Though had completed the Deck Dept Course Signed on as Cabin Boy.

Pool man had Said ."Take this one ,i'll put you back Deck When you return."

Went round to Barry,loaded coal for Madeira. Thence up the River Gambia,loaded Peanuts,then back to Sharpness.
One of the Three, Deck Boys ,was leaving,so was able to move For'd ,in his place.
The Asst Stwd. had told me ,prior to Sharpness. One was allowed one Carton,200 Cigs. Plus one ,open Pkt.

At Home,my Father was the victim of a Stroke.And was gradually wasting away. His only pleasure was A cigarette
As one would appreciate, after eighteen months or so,there was little money at home available.to indulge too much.
I recall.my elder brother,'doing his National Service at that time .Royal Artillery. Would in His weekly or so,letter Home, enclose two or three cigs.in the envelope .On opening, usually crushed, though Smoke-able.
So there's me,can't wait to get to Barry ,So I could get home with the Carton. During our stay ,about five days,Sharpness. Had lashed -out on a Pkt.Park Drive. in order To preserve the Carton.

Arrived Barry .A.m. on a Saturday Morn. about ten'o'clock. I was For'd to make the Tea for our crowd.Mins.later.
a seemingly friendly, Customs Chap approaches .Hi ! How's going ? Oh your first Trip! Enjoy it ? etc.
Then says ,"mind I have look your Cabin, " Which is your Locker"? Opens it. "How come you still have the Carton Cigs " Told Him. Shortly after ,Same guy ,re .appears ."Oh! come along Midships, oh ! and bring the cigarettes with you.
With three or four of his colleagues,I was interrogated. How after nearly a week since arrival Sharpness.I still had 200 cigs ,? etc. etc. I admit ,I was in tears,before they'd finished. And announced ."We're taking them off you. .
You'll get them back. on your return to sea. So not a very happy Chappy ,going home that afternoon.
Some solace, was ,I was able to take home from the ship ,a Kit bag of Peanuts, (Sweepings from the Hatches).

My little Niece, more little Sister, as we'd nursed her from Baby hood,some three years earlier. (Her Mother having died ,five days after the Birth)
Was next time home.
My mother regales me with the Story, As She'd dished out some of the peanuts,to a couple f the the Local Kids,Who sometimes took her out in the push chair. . Following that, Kids ,were coming from around. Can we take Valerie for a Walk .Mrs Lewis? Some, apparently younger ,than our Val.
Back to the Ship .First night out, .Went to Chief Stwd. Asked for the Cigs. "Those were seized by the Customs"

[j.sabourn]

Evan similar to a bottle of spirits I was told was for own consumption and legally had to have the seal broken, so I Always used to take the neck out of the bottle. Maybe that was only with ships crews don’t really know as never checked, because as a traveller were allowed a bottle with the seal intact. Believe today it is a kilo bottle are allowed into Australia with seal unbroken. Will know for certain next July when come back in with 2 kilo. bottles one for the wife and one for me, which means 2 for me as she doesn’t drink. However the savings are not very big as they are not true duty free, they are gst free or vat in the uk. I used to buy a bond in Rotterdam for the ship and cigarettes were 30 shillings a thousand ( 5 cartons) and. Spirits about 5 bob a bottle. Prices on board the ship used. to vary depending on it being a Company’s Bond or a masters bond. When I used to go to Rotterdam used to get a list off everyone what they wanted as were only 9 of a crew and used to give them it at cost price. That’s going back a lot of years though. Today don’t know the price of cigs. But in those days depending on ship and who owned the bond a carton of fags was between 10 and 14 shillings . If you notice a custom officers case is a nice size to fit in 2 cartons of cigs and at least one bottle. In the 50s when the ships were dry and going to Venezuela we carried a special bond just to ease the business of getting the ship through customs and immigration. Probably still goes on. Will always be denied the same as a lot of things. Cheers JWS.

[j.sabourn]

Ps to above the uk were a bit more honest custom wise than most abroad. The Liverpool dock police when paying off always had to have 5 bob with your gate pass though. Customs though have more power than police when it comes to search warrants of private dwellings used to be they didn’t need one. Jim might remember the chippy on the Pennyworth, had been there for years and used to take a docking bottle home every few weeks or so. His house was raided and all his docking bottles confiscated and he was heavily fined . That was in 1964. About 1984 I was fined as had 5 pkts of cigarette tobacco in ships safe which I stuck there whilst bond locker door was being repaired and forgot about. At the same time the second Engineer was caught with 2 bottles in his cabin which I had supplied to him in Rotterdam. Apart from me being fined I was put in their black book and every port got the black gang down. That’s how the one ringers got promotions on How many they caught. Got my own back when took the whole shooting match of them from the shell base in Aberdeen across the water to Waterloo Quay and they had to walk a couple of miles back to their cars. JWS.