Is Customs heartless or corrupt?
Published:Sunday | November 4, 2018 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
My friend and I reside in Toronto, Canada. We have been living here since we were young men. We are now retired.
Recently, my friend bought a Samsung A8 cell phone costing about CDN$500. He shipped the said phone via UPS to a friend in Kingston as a gift. In Jamaica, she was told that in order to collect the phone, it would cost her more than J$50,000.
The poor woman could not afford to pay the outrageous amount demanded by the Jamaica Customs to clear the phone, nor could my friend afford to send her the amount. In fact, if she had that amount of money, she probably would not have begged for a phone.
Now here is the sweet part of the matter. My friend contacted UPS and paid for the return of the phone, but guess what? They were told that Jamaica Customs will not return the phone. My question is, who is now the current owner of that phone? Is this the policy of the Government, or are these decisions being made by corrupt people working in Customs?
These are some of the reasons why my friend and I and our family members have decided to die here in Canada while facing the cold weather and the discrimination rather than return to that wretched place.
LOY LEVY