Actress Carried Jasmine Flowers To Airport, Fined 1.14 Lakh

Malayalam actress Navya Nair was fined AUD 1,980 (approximately Rs 1.14 lakh) at Melbourne International Airport for carrying a 15 cm jasmine gajra in her handbag. Little did she knew that this could cost her a bomb before heading to the airport. It is purely ignorance on her part for these violations as per the Australia’s strict biosecurity laws, which she also admitted.

Going into the details, actress Navya had traveled to Australia to participate in Onam celebrations organized by the Malayali Association of Victoria when she was stopped by airport officials. The actress explained the officials that her father had bought gajra for her before the journey.

“What I did was against the law. It was a mistake I made unknowingly. However, ignorance is no excuse. For carrying a 15 cm jasmine string, officials asked me to pay a fine of AUD 1,980 within 28 days. A mistake is a mistake, though it was not intentional,” Navya reportedly said.

The custom laws of Australia are also very strict where the officials would not be allowing food so easily to be carried in the flight.

On the work front, Navya Nair debuted with Ishtam and quickly rose to fame with films like Mazhathullikkilukkam and Kunjikkoonan.