I have a 'friend' who is visiting the Dam soon and would like to send himself back a small quantity of herbs.

Can anyone advise how best to do this and where to find a post office. Do you have to fill in a customs slip before posting ?

Any advice greatfully received.

Thanks.............Jimmy

Jimmy, do a search on the message board, I remember that this was discussed a while back.

But briefly - I've managed to do it by putting the hash inbetween two computer disks in a disk holder and sending it back in a 'jiffy' bag. I addressed the package to a previous tenant at my house (just in case it was traced).

I don't think that I had to declare anything, but I was stoned at the time! The post office was on the Singel canal (or maybe the next street over).

Hope this helps.

Piece of piss. Nothing to fill in on the outside of jiffy bag, unlike over here. Just take a DVD box out with you too. Job done feet up. Check my last trip report (#3) for how and where to do it.

Good luck.
G~

Thank you guys !!

I'll pass on this great advice to that 'friend' I was telling you about.......he'll be very pleased.

Jimmy

Unrelated story, but...

As a youngster (about 15) I had a (pre-internet snailmail) penfriend in Peru. We corresponded for about a year before he sent me a little "present" in the post - a cassette box stuffed with weed.

I sold it to a mate for £5.

How I regret that - it would be a further 3 years before I eventully tried my first spliff!

Anyway - Back on topic:

I have often wondered about posting stuff back - and what sort of excuse I could use if caught.

Does anyone know how the UK post and Police assess & react to DVD cases full of hash? Do they run sniffer dogs round post sorting offices?

I'm sorely tempted but moderately and healthily paranoid about consequences... and don't have 'prevoius tenants' to blame it on! Of the two logical addresses I could use, I'd hate to get my g/f or mum involved in a smuggling ring!

The first time that we sent some back, we didn't know the names of any previous tenants or owners of the house, so we wrote down the name of the street that we were on at the time.

Everytime since I have been in A'dam I have sent a package to the UK addressed to "Mr Herenstratt"! I always put a fictionous sender return address on it, which again is Dutch sounding.

When I receive the package, I always leave it a few weeks unopened, just in case it was traced / monitored.

As for sniffer dogs, I'm sure that they do operate in sorting offices but are probably trained to detect drugs that are stronger that an eighth of kali mist!

Obviously, it has it's risks, but so does any involvement in what is essentially an illegal / decriminalised substance in the UK.

my advice mate is to stuff some hash in the bottom of a tobacco pouch and keep it on you at all times when going thru customs..

I do the pouch method to all European trips I go on. Saves trying to score in places like Prague. Regarding the UK PO, just remember that it is class C now and how widespread it is. The biggest risk you will have IMHO is some postman hijacking your gear. My package was actually opened and I thought some posty had some top notch bush, but it was still inside the box. Happy days. G~

I did bring some back - once - but absolutely bricked it through customs.

I thought that if I screwed up a small amount in a ziplock baggie and left it in some worn trousers in my hand luggage, I would be able to convince Her Majesty's Finest it was a simple mistake and I'm very sorry it won't happen again.

On all my previous trips to the 'Dam, I have walked off the plane, straight through a deserted Green Channel, and into a taxi home. Easy. No stop 'n' searches.

The one time I pluck up the courage to use the Trouser Pocket Jape, I get to baggage reclaim and the way out is swarming with Customs officers. I put on my brave, innocent face and strode towards the massed ranks. Thankfully, there was a large, rowdy group of hooligans disembarking, shouting obscenities and waving half-empty bottles of spirits around. I can only imagine that the Officers had descended en masse to give them a roasting (and rightfully so). Perhaps one of the only times I've been glad of such morons travelling with me.

I walked straight through past the glare that the Customs Army were collectively aiming at the drunkards... meaning I had about 0.5g of lovely Crystal from Nes Café to consume when I got home.

A small victory, but significant.

Anyone else tried the Trouser Pocket blag? I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to try it again.

DELETED

On a recent visit, sent two packages back to previous tenants... one came no probs... 2g in diskette case. Second one was 3 in dvd case but all received was a letter from c&e... so it's not a totally infallible method!

I don't smoke, so I have no direct experience in answer to this question.

However, I do have family in the Netherlands and occasionally receive gifts and photos by post. I'd say around 20% to 25% of this stuff gets opened and inspected by UK Customs and Excise.

Cheers.

What did the letter say then Kermabun?

Cheers
G~

something about it being compounded, a weight to the nearest 0.01g! and that the person to whom it was sent should write within a month if they think they're being mean buggers. Otherwise, it'd be "destroyed" (whether it is destroyed in the way they'd like you to think is another matter though...!)

Previously I would have said that it was opened due to it being sent in a dvd case. I would have thought the the c&e would have been more likely to open packages with dvds, looking for illegal stuff in the UK ie kiddie, animal porn etc

However, I sent two packages back this time - the gear in the plain envelope got through, but the 6g in with two disks in a 'jiffy' bag was stopped.
It is the first time that some gear hasn't got through for me. It is also the first time that I didn't send it priority post. Not sure if there is a coincidence or not.

Did you send either or yours by priority post?

I thought I only sent one by priority post (the one that didn't get here in the dvd case) but the one that did arrive was also sent by priority post. So that isn't the key! (A previous attempt by non-priority also failed, but no letter or anything... suspect a uk postie got interested in what was a fatter package. Nice surprise for him!).
Perhaps it's to do with the amount - if your 6g failed and the one of mine that did was 3-4, praps there's a cut-off of 2 or 3g...? For whatever reason.
Perhaps a big coordinated study is called for! But yeah I had wondered about dvd cases getting more attention due to the possible dubious content of the dvds myself.

From my own informal study I would recommend sending anything in a letter rather than a package containing a DVD case or anything larger. Letters are not searched at all and the only produce that get's lost this way is just the letter getting lost in the mail.

If the gear is flattened to say the proportions of passport or credit card and then wrapped with clingfilm you can gaurd against suspicious bulges or giveaway stinks.

I've just tried sending some more back from my latest trip.

I sent three lots (no more than 5g in each) back all by the same process - sent as priority mail to the uk, in jiffy bags with the gear between two CD's in a 'jewel' case.

I received the first package, the second I received a letter from the custom & excise saying that it had been seized and the third, I haven't received or received a letter from the c&e, therefore are assuming that my local postie is currently rolling a fat one with it.

I can only assume that a certain percentage are randomly opened when they arrive in the UK and it is the luck of the draw, if they open yours.

Next time I go, I might send back some blank CD's in a jiffy bag to see if that gets through unopened.

The 'research' continues..................

why not just bring some back?..
on your person not in luggage..
customs only tend to search items on you like wallet etc
if they find some evidence of smoking like a pipe,papers in your luggage...
i've just bought back 5 g in my wallet.

When returning to the Uk from Dam i always bring a nice block of hash back. I always put it in my boxers as this is the place they will never search. Done this on a few trips now no problem.