KEY POINTS:
A forgotten apple in her hand luggage has cost Jamaica's netball captain Elaine Davis a $200 fine from the Ministry of Agriculture Quarantine Service.
The apple was discovered yesterday morning during a compulsory x-ray of luggage at Auckland International Airport.
The 31-year-old goal shooter had just arrived from Los Angeles, and was shocked by the discovery of an apple she had forgotten about during a 12-hour flight, said team manager Hyacinth Smith.
"She honestly did not remember she had it with her, because she was asked if she had any fruit or vegetable and the captain said 'No, I've nothing like that'.
"It was an apple she had from the hotel in LA. She meant to eat it on the plane."
The manager said Davis was very distressed because she was somebody who did not knowingly break rules.
To the netballer, a university student, $200 was a lot of money.
Her travel and accommodation expenses for the World Netball Tournament at Waitakere, which she says will be her last as a player, are sponsored by the Guardian Life insurance company.
Davis could not pay the fine and has 14 days' grace.
A Biosecurity New Zealand spokeswoman said the $200 fine was imposed on anyone caught with undeclared fruit, plant or animal products, considered a threat to the country's biosecurity.
American actor Hilary Swank paid the fine for an undeclared apple in Auckland two years ago.
