I received my second LL some weeks ago, and today I received a notice saying that since this was my second LL, the case would be handed over to the police.

Should I be worried? Will the police even look at a case like this? The medications I was trying to import was Tramadol, in small quantities.

Thanks for any advice.

Tramadol I wouldnt worry about it

Keep us informed because this is a first but I still think they are just trying too scare you. Who are they thing too transfer it over too? The feds? Local police? State police? I think they would have been more specific. Don't even look at med sites on the internet for now though. Give it a good while. Call them if you can and see what agency it got pushed too. If they "can't divulge that information" push em a little if they still cant and dont have a damn good reason, they are full of it.

Oh, and get this LL scanned in! I'm sure everyone will want too see it.

Tramadol? EU?

what country is that LL coming from?

I live in the EU, so procedure is probably different than in the States. What they sent me was definitely a standard letter that they (I think) send out to everyone who has received a second LL. It states that the offense is "importing meds into the EU from countries outside the EU", and at the same time, it states that it is legal to import meds from within the EU.

So there are no feds to worry about, just the local police. Still, I am a little worried about what they will do, I could be fined or something worse.

It's a lie! local police do no dealt with customs. LEO never ever sends you a letter they would just show up. Why would the want to give you a head start to destroy evedence. If any legal action was taken it would be by customs and the drug is not even controled anyways. Just stay away from India sites waste of time.

Well [censored]], I can't help you there. I know nothing about EU law.

They never stated which department of the police they would hand it over to, I was just guessing. It probably won't be the local police, more likely some purely bureaucratic department that handles this stuff.

What that means for me, I have no idea. I agree that this is probably just to scare me - I mean, there must be hundreds of these cases every month handed over to the police, they can't possibly take action on all of them.

Gotta admit, the scare tactics do work. I was quite panicky initially, and probably will worry about it for some time.

They threaten you with the police over Tramadol? Jesus, and I thought that we had it bad stateside...

Was it your name that they noted or your address? I always planned too make the argument that if they couldn't prove I ordered anything then I was innocent. My receiving a package means everyone's broken the law but me until it gets too me, provided you can't prove ordering (there's likely no way they can). When I get something I act surprised as I could be about it like I had no idea it was coming. If I track it, I go elsewhere and track it so my IP won't be connected too it in any way. I'm not sure this would provide me complete legal defense but it would go a long way I'm sure. Though I don't think I'll ever have too put that plan into motion. *knock on wood*

They had both my name and address, since the meds were sent using registered mail.

I know Tramadol isn't exactly a high risk drug, and my conclusion so far is that the thing they would pin on me would be importing ANY meds from outside the EU. It's very fuzzy to me, but that doesn't mean the police won't see it differently.

I guess there is some stuff you could do to throw them off, but I don't think this is a big deal. I would go ahead and call, and ask what its about while denying everything. Tell them you recieved this letter blah blah blah. You obviously have NO idea what it's about. Worst case scenario, the phone call ends with you deciding you need a lawyer. To me, this seems like the kinda thing I would dig my feet in on and face head on.

If it's just Tramadol, and you said it was a small amount (meaning it's unlkely you had intent to distribute), I would simply toss the letter and move on.

I do suppose things could he different in EU, but seems a minor issue IMO.

Yea, the only reason I say check it out is because if by chance in the EU that actually is something they arrest for, they could put a warrant out on you and I can tell you from experience theres no such thing as a good time too get arrested when you aren't expecting it

I doubt that this is something they would arrest me for. On the contrary, I think EU contries have a more lax attitude towards this stuff (think Amsterdam), but that doesn't mean they won't go out of their way to scare you into behaving...

In my current state of mind, all scenarios are likely, but if I really look at the situation, a fine seems like the worst possible outcome - the best being that the letter from customs to the police will be buried along with hundreds others in some bureaucrat's office and thrown out. What kind of case would they have when I haven't even received the goods...

I am not aware of any EU level law which bans the importation of medication from outside the EU for personal use. Obviously there are Rules about commercial importation without approval and importation of controlled drugs but Tramadol isn't one of them. If there is a law in your country it is a national one and nothing to do with the EU. The EU wouldn't be so stupid because they would end up arresting every third tourist.

nephro would probably have some good info on this. You might want to pm him and ask him to take a look at this thread.

Can you please blackout your personal info and attach an image of that letter to one of your posts?
It would be nice to see it!

The letter is not in English, so I doubt that any of you would get anything out of it... My native language is far from a major language, but sure, there's a chance that someone could read it. I don't have a scanner, though.

A lot of people here will be able to read it
We would like you to post it... but it is up to you...

Have you got a webcam or a camera? You must be able to take a photo somehow.

You don't happen to be from Sweden where Tramadol is a controlled substance?

WingsOfWax, please tell us what country you're from? Saying you're from the EU is pointless. The EU is not one unified superstate with one law which we all abide by. One day, they hope, but not yet...

And you are from Northern Europe because that's how you welcomed yourself to the board.

You're not a Brit. Doubt Denmark has draconian Rules like what you're dealing with. Norway aren't in the EU, so you're either from Finland or Sweden. I reckon Sweden, where Tramadol is a controlled drug.

I'm not from Sweden, but I am in one of the Scandinavian countries. That should narrow it down enough...I hesitate to reveal my exact location, considering the circumstances.

Well the big question I guess is this...is Tram a controlled drug where you are?

Now even if it is, in the US they CAN do something with just one time of intercepting a package, but a small order of certain things, they don't usually do anything about it.

Here if it is a Sch I, then you can bet they WILL do something and you won't get a LL.

Well Norway aren't in the EU. So.. Finland or Iceland? Surely not Denmark. They have normal laws in that country lol ...

Sounds rather "passive-agressive" to me; I sometimes think that we in North America have a rather idealized notion of "devil may care" Scandinavia.

Keep in mind that I have no idea whether or not the police will actually get involved - customs just said they will pass my "case" on to the police. I agree with the others that this is probably just scare tactics, because the letter is a standard letter send out to everyone who gets more than one LL (I think).

I don't think Tramadol is controlled where I live, but I will look into it.

I've been around this board for many years and cannot imagine that police in any country have the time to pursue anything against you based on what you have described. Really, a small amount of Tramadol? What a waste of resources to even pay to send the letter. It is likely a scare tactic and it works. That seems to make the most sense to me. I would probably do some reading and make darn good and sure that most people are receiving their orders from any place I use in the future and I would wait a while before ordering again. Otherwise, use a different location to ship to or a different order name. I know it's easier said than done, but don't worry about it too much.

What I can tell you about the UK is that the police force are set targets in terms of number of arrests, just like traffic wardens are in terms of issuing parking fines. Also, imagine the newbie copper who hasn't made his first arrest yet, and the stick he gets from his colleagues?

UK police like to have "clampdowns" on things every so often. One week it will be tax discs, the next it will be worn tyres, then next it will be street-traders without a licence.

I would bet my house that one of these "clampdowns" will be on importing medicines, if it hasn't been already, probably more than once.

Local police can get info on your purchase by the credit card company, the courier, some do-gooder at the post office, or even the postman who delivers it. They won't know their Tramadol from their aspirin, or their aspirin from their hydrocodone. All they will think is "DRUGS! DEALER! REPORT THEM!" Some people just love reporting things to the police, and get a kick out of it. I think there's a medical name for it in fact.

If the police get a call from one of these do-gooders, they WILL be knocking on your door. I personally know someone this has happened to, and it wasn't even an illegal substance. They bought some hydrogen peroxide from a chemical company, and some weeks later, the drug and Bomb Squad came round their house. Yet you can buy hydrogen peroxide at the local pharmacy. Apparently the problem was that it can be used to make explosives and can be a pre-cursor to manufacture of drugs.

This also proves that this Scandanavian country has a database of names and addresses from seized goods. All computers retain this information anyway in their memory storage devices until it gets overwritten. A school kid could set it up as a searchable database, with alerts for future matches.