When I got home last night TN was doing a full investigative report on this -- they had put some guys undercover on the staff. I only caught the last 5 mins, but the part I did see was that the staff were putting bags through the Xray to see what's in them -- looking for new notebooks, Playstations etc. The older notebooks they left alone, but the Playstations they were interested in -- especially the PlayStation 3. For electronics they were saying they could easily get 500 or a luca (1000), luca and a half for them.
If you're not already aware, you cannot lock your bags on flights between Argentina and the States -- the Americans crack the locks open anyway. I've tried to use the wires from twist ties to lock all zips, they cut through those as well. Often when you reopen your bag you'll find a note from US Customs saying they've gone through your stuff. gee, thanks.
So when I pack all valuables come on board with me -- considering the size of some peoples carry-ons you could even bring a monitor on board in a box. You're better off bringing any electronics on board with you and leaving just clothes etc in your bag.
When I pack my bags, I hate the idea of customs touching my stuff, so I pack everything in those vaccuum bags. That way if customs opens my luggage, they just have 2-3 packs of vaccuum bags that they can touch, and they don't get their grimy fingers on my stuff. I'd rather have semi-wrinkled clothes when I get to my destination then a bunch of loose items inside my baggage. If you look at my luggage on a typical trip when you unzip the bag there's just 3 or so packs of clothes and (on the way back) maybe a couple of books and some peanut butter, haha
If you're not already aware, you cannot lock your bags on flights between Argentina and the States -- the Americans crack the locks open anyway. I've tried to use the wires from twist ties to lock all zips, they cut through those as well. Often when you reopen your bag you'll find a note from US Customs saying they've gone through your stuff. gee, thanks.
So when I pack all valuables come on board with me -- considering the size of some peoples carry-ons you could even bring a monitor on board in a box. You're better off bringing any electronics on board with you and leaving just clothes etc in your bag.
When I pack my bags, I hate the idea of customs touching my stuff, so I pack everything in those vaccuum bags. That way if customs opens my luggage, they just have 2-3 packs of vaccuum bags that they can touch, and they don't get their grimy fingers on my stuff. I'd rather have semi-wrinkled clothes when I get to my destination then a bunch of loose items inside my baggage. If you look at my luggage on a typical trip when you unzip the bag there's just 3 or so packs of clothes and (on the way back) maybe a couple of books and some peanut butter, haha
