A woman was suspected of carrying explosives because of heart medications

Marie Harland lives with her husband in the UK. When they returned from a holiday in Madeira, they were checked for explosives at the airport. The test came back positive because of an ingredient in Marie's heart medication, reports Newsweek.

Photo: iStock.com/PhonlamaiPhoto

On 8 January 2024, Marie and her husband were returning home to the UK from Funchal, Madeira. The couple spent a week's holiday there.

At the airport, they placed their hand luggage in trays and prepared to go through security. My husband passed it first without any problems. Then, as Marie walked through the scanner, an alarm went off.

“Then I thought there was nothing unusual about this. It might have been the wire from my bra!” - she said.

Verification procedure

A woman from airport security then approached Marie and motioned for her to stand on two footprints printed on the floor. Marie did just that. The security woman then took out a wand, placed a metal strip on it, and ran it over Marie's palms, the backs of her hands, and around her waist.

On the subject: In California, a homeless man hijacked a plane and flew it 40 km

She then removed the strip from the stick and placed it in a special machine that made a warning sound. Marie was alarmed and thought it must be a mistake. The woman took another strip and put it back in the car, but the alarm did not go off.

The security officer then repeated the check through a special machine, and the alarm went off again.

“I didn’t know what to think, but I felt uneasy and scared. There was a line of people waiting to go through security. Everyone just looked at me,” Marie conveyed her emotions.

The woman from the service said that Marie tested positive for explosives. Marie was shocked and confused.

Interrogation

Marie's husband tried to find out what was going on, but no one communicated with him.

“I started to panic and asked security what was going on, but they didn’t tell me anything either,” she continued. “Then two policemen appeared and took me away. But since I did not resist, one policeman disappeared on the way to the interrogation room. Everyone was looking at me and I was shaking with fear.”

At first, the police said that Marie's husband would not be able to join them, but he insisted that he wanted to accompany his wife, and he was allowed in.
The detainee was taken to a small locked room where she was interrogated by an officer. The room was large enough to accommodate a desk and two chairs.

The officer asked her what she was doing that morning. Marie told him that she and her husband went to breakfast at the hotel and then returned to their room to finish packing before going down to the lobby to wait for a taxi.

The woman told the officer that they went straight to the airport, checked the suitcase and went through security.

“At that moment I was shaking, my mouth was dry, so it was difficult to speak. He saw that I felt terrible, so his treatment of me became calmer,” Marie described that terrible interrogation.

The officer filled out a form with all of the woman's personal information, including the names of her deceased parents. According to Marie, it seemed as if they wanted to arrest her, even though she had done nothing wrong. The policeman radioed another employee to check Marie's passport against the Interpol database, but they did not find anything suspicious.

Medicines for the heart

“Are you taking any heart medications?” - the officer asked the frightened woman.

Marie responded in the affirmative, after which the officer said that the heart pills contained very small amounts of ingredients that were used to make explosives.

The heart pills were in Marie’s purse, which she had with her. The officer looked at them and returned them to the detainee. A body scanner and swabs found explosive particles on her, so the police took Marie in for questioning. They assumed that the passenger was trying to smuggle explosives onto the plane.

Marie's cardiologist never warned her that the pills contained traces of explosives and that the human body excreted them in sweat through the pores of the skin.

“I was very annoyed and upset that they didn’t immediately ask me if I was taking medication, but put me through this test,” Marie admitted. “I felt humiliated and disappointed by the airport staff. They wouldn’t even treat a dog like that.”

Not yet the end

After an hour of questioning, the officer told Marie that she should have a special plastic card from her doctor stating that she was taking Bisoprolol and Flecainide.

The couple were taken back to security where they had to go through a body scanner again, which this time did not work, and their carry-on luggage was x-rayed again.

A woman then approached Marie, forced her to stand still, and without warning gave her a full and thorough search.

“I was completely humiliated and at that moment I felt that I was being treated like a criminal, although I explained that I was taking heart medication,” Marie complained.

This incident left a mark on the woman’s soul. Her husband was very angry. The experience left the couple very upset.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read all this on ForumDaily New Y

“I couldn’t believe that I was treated like a criminal and that this could happen. Other patients with cardiovascular disease who take medications should be aware that this can happen to them too,” Marie warned.

“I think about it every day and it makes me very sad. This should never have happened. My consultant or doctor did not warn me that this could happen to me while traveling, and this completely discouraged me from flying again,” the woman concluded.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How to make $ 1000 out of thin air: simple but effective saving methods

Chicago cop tries to change his race through court

The USA has extended the password for Ukrainians: how to stay in America for another two years

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.