Got fined $800 for bringing a 1kg bag of home made chocolates into Australia.

I've been back home for a couple of weeks now, so I've got a clear head to talk about this.<br><br>I've been in Japan for 3 years. My family, friends and I made a lot of home-made chocolates (probably about 5kgs worth). We didn't weigh our luggage at home, so we didn't realize our bags were so overweight. My 25kg bag was 35kgs, and my 10kg carry on was 15kgs.<br><br>When I got to Narita, the weigh station at the check in area stopped me. I was sent to the gate to pay my overweight fee, which was about Y5000. They didn't check the contents of my bags.<br><br>After the 6 hour flight, I was in transit at BNE. I had a 3 hour window before leaving to my final destination. I was stopped by the weigh station (again). They told me my bags were overweight and that i had to pay an overweight fee. This time, it was over AUD$500. I told them that I had already paid 5000Yen at the previous airport, but they didn't care. I had 3 hours to get to my gate, so I had no choice to pay an exorbitant fee.<br><br>Then, they directed me to the quarantine area to be checked. They opened both of my bags and emptied them all onto the counter. I had a 1kg bag of chocolates, and about 4 kg of chocolates in 7 separate ziplock bags. They took all the chocolate, and asked me if I had declared the food. I told them I didn't know it was wrong to bring it back. We'd made the chocolate from store bought chocolate and powdered milk. They told me that I was breaking the rules and that they were going to fine me. They also told me that I was lying about not knowing, because I had declared 5 packets of oreos, a bag of potato chips and a box of tim tams. <br><br>They took my license and my boarding pass, and told me to stay put until they were done with me. After 15 minutes, she gave me a receipt with a fine of $800.<br><br>I left the airport with less than 10kgs of luggage. they took 5kgs of chocolate, and I left some clothes behind. I really really hope my family and friends enjoy the chocolate, cause I'm not getting it back.<br><br>Declaring your food is so important. I didn't know that most foods are illegal because Australia has strict laws on how foods are produced. I didn't know you couldn't bring powdered milk into the country. Even if I had declared it, they would have still taken it.<br><br>I'm still really upset that they took my chocolate. But not angry enough to be fined $800.<br><br>This is for anyone who is planning on bringing anything back to Australia. Please check the laws carefully.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Edit: if you're going to bring chocolate, please make sure to check the laws first. I didn't know the laws, hence the post. This was a warning for anyone who was planning on bringing chocolate into Australia. Please don't blame me for your chocolate being taken.