My close friends — Jonathan and Vahni — flew from London to Jersey this winter to oversee the packing of my things, mostly personal belongings and papers, after the Jersey authorities flagged me for removal at the UK border following my research into the Haut de la Garenne scandal.
These things also included fancy dress shoes, which were of apparent interest to the authorities.
The boxes arrived in the U.S. many weeks later, slashed open by X-Acto knives and in some cases (such as the box pictured below) ripped open by human hands. The boxes arrived with a form stating that a “contaminant” was found inside, but it did not say what that contaminant was. Frankly, it’d be nice to know.
Below, a transcript between Vahni and the United Parcel Service, which was entrusted with my packages, hinting that the possibility of poisonous UK-Jersey soil on my dress shoes had established grounds for a lengthy search of my belongings. All of which makes one wonder why we are allowed to walk off planes in street shoes after taking international flights?
Based on the fact all the boxes were opened and the shipment arrived weeks late, we can only deduce someone had a very strong interest in going through my stuff.
FEBRUARY 2012
Initial Question: Receiver [Leah McGrath Goodman] has just told me that ALL packages opened/damaged. Things actually spilling out of them. They were just left at side door without knocking. They were delivered after the promised delivery date.
UPS Sammy A.: Hi, this is Sammy A.. I’ll be happy to assist you!
Vahni: As you can see – not happy!
UPS Sammy A.: I need to connect you with a representative who can track your international package. Can I connect you now?
Vahni: yes please
UPS Sammy A. has disconnected.
UPS Ursula P.: Hi, this is Ursula P.. I’ll be happy to assist you.
Vahni: can you see my prior chat? Very unhappy with the condition of shipment.
UPS Ursula P.: Yes, I can see the prior chat. Just a moment while I review your tracking information.
Vahni: there are 7 packages in that shipment. ALL were opened and not reclosed securely.
Vahni: And were left at side door without knocking to see if anyone was there to receive them.
UPS Ursula P.: Please give me a couple of minutes to check what happen with your packages and i will also find out about the delivery. Vahni: We’ll be checking carefully through the items to see if anything is damaged or missing.
Vahni: if so, what is the procedure for filing a claim?
UPS Ursula P.: I understand that you need to know about this packages. I would need a couple of minutes to find all the information for this packages. Would that be okay with you?
Vahni: Yes. Basically I need to know why they arrived in such bad condition
UPS Ursula P.: Thanks, Just give me a moment.
UPS Ursula P.: Thanks for your patience. I review all the information of this tracking number in the system. The system shows that your package was held by the U.S. Customs Agency. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) required the package to be cleaned and disinfected the 11 pairs of shoes. Soil from another countries is not allowed to enter the USA. the customs inspector cleaned and disinfected the shoes. Then the package was back to UPS for delivery.
Vahni: Yes. but all the shoes were in one box. All the boxes were opened, and not reclosed properly.
Vahni: Things were poking out of them.
Vahni: Why?
UPS Ursula P.: I am sorry.
Probably the work of cross-dressers Leah hun 🙂
Good point. Perhaps the authorities flagged me as a ‘person of interest’ due to my kind of amazing shoes. It would not be the first time a shoe incident has gripped the United Kingdom. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/06/13/pervert-grabbed-shocked-teenager-s-shoe-in-street-86908-20605190/
Were they the cute mid-heel booties with the floral fabric ruffle?
I would have had to detain them for a few weeks too. For matters related to national security, of course, not personal use.
Supermodel, Goddess, Fashion Diva! 🙂
It would seem that you have allot of ‘cred’. That cred is a threat to some. My guess is the work you did in Asylum ( for one ), is so powerful and revealing that there are some who now fear that lense being turned toward the Jersey matter. I submit, it’s both a compliment and an omen. It would seem
the ‘gloves are off’ and it will be a fight from this point forward. All power to you!
not to poo poo or anything but don’t the black-out markings seem like what people normally do when shipping boxes with extraneous pre-printed information on them? strings of numbers on packages can confuse the processing system, whether its a human or a computer-vision device that scans boxes and routes them on conveyor machines, so people like ebay sellers will blackout that stuff as a normal procedure.
but the rest of it …. seems a bit odd. although i did find these
People on the Hajj advised to clean their shoes before coming back:
http://ca.cair.com/sfba/action_alert/going_on_hajj
Frequent fliers complaining about CBP and USDA issues:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/practical-travel-safety-issues/1203747-removing-cbp-red-flag-2.html
Someone who shipped shoes home from the UK around the time Foot and Mouth was breaking out, 2001, and found their boxes opened:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/353902
Not saying there is no possibility that someone put your name on a CBP list but ….. who did it? why? when? how? where?
Uhhh…just so you all know, I was not participating in the Hajj. Clearly, shoes can get a bit tarnished from performing the Fifth pillar of Islam. Many travel hundreds of miles on foot; some travel more than a year. Which is admirable. To my knowledge, there were no foot-and-mouth outbreaks afoot (no pun intended) and I did not have food or organic items in my boxes. That said, I travel a good deal and I have never seen such dickering over dress shoes. Matthew, you are, of course, right about the black-out markings on the boxes likely preceding the box-ripping/slashing. I would agree to that. A poor attempt at humor. I suppose I have now received so many blacked-out documents from the UK authorities (namely, notes about me, taken by them, obtained through Freedom of Information requests) you could say I have developed the slightest intolerance for black magic marker. I will begin posting some of these documents shortly and blog more fully on the events in the coming days. Taken in full, I will be curious to hear what you and others think.
Just the fact that packages were ‘dumped’ at an address alone would be in breach of delivery procedures ( s’posed to leave a card, and the delivery must be signed for, liabilities etc etc ).
Perhaps the whole UPS ground services team have ‘gone postal’ what with a Mormon running for the top job over there. .. …. 🙂
PS – If you can, def file a claim along with complaint letters.
HI Leah,
This is my latest posting. Having just spent some time up in Cairo it can fire one up to keep going in search of Truth, Honesty and Integrity
http://ricosorda.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-transcript-of-in-camera-debate.html
rs
Leah.
Jersey’s former Police Chief, rather like the treatment you suffered, was treated worse than a terrorist where he was to be interviewed (interrogated) for more than a week on, what have been described as, trumped up charges because his force were investigating (rather like yourself again) the DECADES of Child Abuse in government run “care” institutions. Your readers might find this EXCLUSIVE posting from the former Chief Officer of interest.
When it absolutely, positively HAS to be there overnight without pilfering, pillaging, or being alien-autopsied…use FedEx.
Seriously, with Fedex you could ship Centerfuges made from C4 between Iran and North Korea – and as long as you didn’t screw up the waybill? You’re golden. (For any and all UK or DHS authorities reading this witty/lame comment and trying to band Leah from Ascot for life? Get real!)
Chin up, Leah!
Between UPS and Customs for parcels sent, bought and/or sold from and to the other side of the pond, I can tell you some real horror stories about those two seedy ‘enterprises’ that would make your toes curl in your nice shoes! The dirt’s on them by the way. 😉
For all the great things you try and do in the world, there is always someone or something trying to knock you back. I think it’s hilarious that the ‘elite establishment’ think they can stop you from uncovering the truth.
Not going to happen, no way, José! With people like Rico, VFC and the rest of the equally hard-working folk who share your noble aim of ensuring the world discovers the truth about child abuse, past and present the truth will eventually be told.
If Jersey’s ‘axis and protector of evil’ think they can continue to act like a North Korean dictatorship by continuing to unlawfully bar you from entering Jersey for legitimate reasons, they are really deluding themselves.
As for BBC Jersey, I asked their editor the other day on Twitter if the investigation being conducted on the mainland would encompass Jersey he refused to give me an answer. The cover-up by the state-run BBC media should be totally ashamed of themselves.
I do hope that the management team that continue to collude with the ‘inner circle’ of senators et al that are at the centre of one of the most horrific cover-up’s of recent times on the island get their just desserts. And by that I mean by way of criminal prosecutions and not just early retirement, redundancy or by some other inappropriate means.
It’s therefore essential that you continue with your efforts. Never give up. There are too many innocent victims that continue to needlessly suffer at the hands of individuals, directly and indirectly who think they will remain in their jobs and/or out of prison.
The tide is turning and you have a massive part to play in helping Rico, VFC and all the other folks trying to bring these evil doer’s to task. Most importantly, the victims need a voice that stretch beyond the Jersey shores and the UK mainland.
The good Citizens of Jersey are desperate for change and for everything to come out properly, so that they can mourn for their little gem of an island, mourn for those that have lost their lives, mourn for the living and last but by no means least, mourn for themselves.
Once the laws of the island are overhauled, the rotten eggs are removed from office and a new democratic body which separates its key functions to help form a productive, transparent, fair and impartial government, only then will Jersey be able to move forward.
It has a long way to go and you must stick to the task, along with all the other brave folk of Jersey who have fast become the real voice of that beautiful island.
Best wishes,
Neil – Ontario, Canada