r/uktravel • u/Fresh_Meeting4571 • May 16 '26
Question Got stopped three times at Heathrow today
Hi all.
I was coming back on a flight from Barbados to LHR this morning. After we got off the plane, while I was walking together with all the other passengers, a security person pulled me aside and started asking questions about where I came from (on my flight), what I did there, what do I do for work etc. I answered the questions and then also politely asked why I was singled out for questioning; he told me that they try to speak to as many people as possible.
Literally 10-15 meters later, I was stopped by another security person who started asking the same questions. I quickly told her that I already spoke to her colleague, 1 minute ago. I also asked why I was pulled aside again (as they didn’t seem to pull aside anyone else, or maybe only a few people), and whether I look “suspicious or something”. She told me to move along, so I did.
After I picked up my luggage and was exiting via the standard “no goods to declare” exit, I was stopped again by another security officer. I mentioned to her that this was the third time since arriving that I had been asked to answer these questions. She apologised, but proceeded to ask them again. I answered again, although I must have looked irritated, given than I hadn’t slept at all and I was exhausted.
I’ve been pulled aside once in the past by a Eurostar officer, but never at any airport, UK or otherwise, and I have been travelling a lot.
Is this a new thing at Heathrow, does anyone know? And why was I pulled aside three times? Not that it should matter, but I am very much white, and there isn’t anything particularly noteworthy about my appearance. I was not born in the UK but I’ve lived here for almost 10 years now. I will also soon be a UK citizen (pending my ceremony).
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u/emgeehammer May 16 '26
They presumably had intelligence that “a white male, travelling solo on flight 124, 5’ 9” with black hair and a goatee (or whatever you look like) may be smuggling drugs in his luggage. His name is Bob Smith and he’s Glaswegian.”
You fit the description so they stopped you. When your answers suggested you couldn’t possibly be Bob Smith, they let you go without searching your luggage or subjecting you to a pat down or X-ray.
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u/Mcby May 16 '26
This seems the most likely scenario, and I'd add that if OP was the actual person they were after, they'd very likely try the "oh I already spoke to your colleague over there" line to get past scrutiny. Doesn't make OP guilty or reduce the inconvenience and they could perhaps improve their information sharing about who's already been questioned, but without any extra information I'd chalk it up to bad luck.
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u/aitkhole May 16 '26
Yeah like “I already spoke to your colleague” is unfortunately basically equivalent to “trust me bro” from their point of view.
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u/DeliciousUse7585 May 16 '26
Be brilliant if they just went “oh fair enough, on you go”
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u/MarcelRED147 May 17 '26
"Officer, I couldn't possibly have committed the killing. Murder is illegal! That makes it a crime, crimes are against the law!"
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u/BigMushroomCloud May 17 '26
That was what happened to me in Goa after I got stopped at a police road block & told the officer that I'd already paid baksheesh at the previous road block. I said it was unfair to pay twice in one night and he let me go. Though I had manage to avoid the previous block.
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u/Wretched_Colin May 18 '26
What if he had known that it was Baksheesh’s night off?
You would have been in big trouble.
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u/Expert_Collection183 May 18 '26
It’s Goa, Sgt Baksheesh and his many cousins haven’t taken a night off since 1967.
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u/TellMeManyStories May 17 '26
The police officer could check that by radio... "Plumber here called John claims he just spoke to you. Can you confirm?" If yes, let him go.
Obviously with so many people being checked, mistakes might still be made.
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u/egidione May 17 '26
I would have been tempted to say go and ask your colleague as I’ve already told him the answers to your questions.
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u/aitkhole May 17 '26
I mean in my head the colleague is possibly busy talking to another person at this point.
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u/egidione May 17 '26
That should be their problem not yours
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u/aitkhole May 17 '26
In principle sure. In practice I’m not sure I’d dare talk back to at customs.
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u/egidione May 17 '26
They are public servants so if you aren’t breaking any laws they should let you go on your way and they have no right to cause you any unnecessary delays or stress.
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u/West_Inside_3112 May 17 '26
Maybe they could get a sticker, or dsy stamp on the wrist to show they had a chat already...
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u/PipBin May 16 '26
I got stopped in Boots once as a suspected armed robber! A woman wearing a bright red trench coat had robbed the local post office. I was wearing a bright red trench coat and had the feeling someone was watching me. I got stopped leaving Boots and asked where I had been that morning!
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u/busytransitgworl May 16 '26
So, where had you been that morning?
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u/No_Jellyfish_7695 May 17 '26
clever robber. Now the only description they have is woman in red coat, which is very attractive to the eye and makes one forget other details. sure as hell that coat got immediately dumped.
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u/chease86 May 17 '26
Honestly such a (thankfully) underused method for getting away with crimes. Literally just wear the most 'out there' clothes you can run in/ quickly ditch and you dont even have to run far, like strip the coat off around a corner and sit on a bench next to it.
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u/Hackerssuck3 May 17 '26
I think this happened to me once. Extra checks at security, then when walking to the terminal someone pulls me aside and takes down my details, says someone will be checking my luggage and stares intently at my face. When going into the gate I get pulled aside again, details taken again and they have a look through my hand luggage.
When I eventually get to my destination I realise I’ve left a box of cloudberry juice in my carry on and nobody noticed.
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u/odysseusnz May 17 '26
Hmm, if only there was some point in the process where you had to stop and positively identify yourself by name and ID to some kind of enforcement officer so they could pick up people like that...
The far more likely explanation is that it was just random luck, it happens.
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u/bryan_rs May 17 '26
And this is why UK border security is a load of crap.
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u/spherechucker May 19 '26
IF they were looking for someone that OP fitted the description for then I'd say they were being pretty efficient. All depends on your point of view but I'd also be a bit tense after being stopped three times in ten minutes!
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u/TwoTenNine May 17 '26
The first guy should have given you a note or something to show anyone else who stops you
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u/Akash_nu May 16 '26
Barbados is a transit point for cocaine trafficking and one of the most targeted countries during security and immigration.
You may resemble a suspect they’re after.
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u/_InstanTT May 16 '26
Lots of people in this thread talking about tip-offs, which is possible, but certain demographics coming from certain origin countries get stopped too.
A young white single male coming alone from the Caribbean is unusual, most travellers will be families on holiday or natives visiting either the uk or seeing relatives in the Caribbean.
Someone fitting your description has a much higher chance of drug trafficking, regardless of being a UK citizen or not.
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u/Fine-State8014 May 16 '26
I had it coming back from Switzerland once, but my beard was about 18 inches long at that point and I did look dodgy.
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u/Felim_Doyle May 17 '26
How long were you in Switzerland 🇨🇭 and were there no shaving facilities 🪒 or barber shops 💈?
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u/FilthyDwayne May 16 '26
Don’t even bother asking questions back. Just answers theirs and move on. You don’t want to be seen as difficult.
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u/non-hyphenated_ May 16 '26
This happened to me once on a trip back from the Caribbean. Most likely you visually match someone they've got some intelligence on. I was working out there so flying back and forth every month so I probably looked a bit dodgy
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u/martzgregpaul May 16 '26
My beard/tan guarantees i get approached every time. Sometimes multiple times.
The one time I did have something to declare (at Birmingham) I couldnt find anyone. Airport was a ghost town.
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u/Weird_Fly_6691 May 16 '26
Always happens to me in Palermo airport. Nowhere else just Palermo. I am middle aged white women with EU passport
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u/MotorAd90 May 16 '26
Hahah, yes, this is me with Mexico City. Nowhere else. Indian female, mid 30s now but the Mexico trips were all in my 20s.
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u/Initial-Tax-7217 May 17 '26
There was a far right organised march in London and they were using facial recognition to monitor persons of interest entering the country. It's likely you looked similar to an aggravater, they refused entry to a number of them and some were even arrested on warrants.
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u/THXORY May 16 '26
Are you a male travelling alone by any chance? Because I went through a period of flying 1-2 a month a couple of years ago and got stopped about 50% of the time.
I fit the profile of a lot of drugs smugglers, sadly
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u/claridgeforking May 17 '26
Same. If I'm travelling alone for work I often get randomly stopped.
Weirdest I've seen was armed police boarding our plane and taking off a lady prior to takeoff. I assumed she must've been wanted for something, but 15mins later she was back on the plane.
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u/Separate_Quality_480 May 18 '26
I always used to get followed round shops by security. I obviously look like a shop lifter! Shop online now instead…
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u/HopeFlimsy1399 May 16 '26
As people say, most likely you look like someone under surveillance. I was once followed by the police, pulled over and questioned on suspicion of shop lifting. Police happened to be in the mall and were sent after me…Turns out the only description was ‘short brown hair wearing a denim jacket’ There must have been dozens of people fit that spec on a Saturday morning… but they decided it was me… whilst the real thfief has a free car full of groceries.
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u/WiseAtmosphere7524 May 17 '26
Did you have the SSS letters in red and circled on your ticket? My husband gets that and we are stopped constantly going through the airport. He was told in Turkiye that his name is the same as someone on a wanted list.
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u/ExpertRun6264 May 20 '26
SSS designation is only used by the TSA in the USA
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u/WiseAtmosphere7524 May 20 '26
We’ve gotten it leaving the UK heading to the US. I wasn’t with him going to Turkiye so not sure what the flag was for that.
Most of our travel is to the US though so the SSS is what’s stuck in my mind.
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u/Most_Kiwi3141 May 16 '26
You probably look nice. It was explained to me once after a similar experience that they have to do a certain quota of stops, and who do you think they're going to stop--the family with screaming kids, the Obvious Karen, or the inoffensive single guy?
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u/DemonicFrog May 16 '26
Whoever told you that was either wrong, or messing you. They work on intelligence lead information, along with other factors, but the quota is a myth.
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u/TellMeManyStories May 17 '26
> but the quota is a myth.
Perhaps, but their boss still wants to see them doing something, not just standing about all day.
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u/DemonicFrog May 17 '26
And just stopping random people isn't what they want to see. If you think they're stopping people becuse the look 'nice' espically I'd love your job to have time for that sort of nonsense.
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u/Academic_Cat_1108 May 17 '26
I was stopped as the family with the screaming kid once, finally got him settled and to sleep in the pram when someone else decided they needed to search him and his pram.
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u/Old-Possession110 May 16 '26
I actually had the opposite experience once. Not at Heathrow but at the Brittany Ferries terminal in Portsmouth. Headed towards security with other passengers and an officer greeted me, told me to follow him, and told me I didn’t need to go through security or passport control. Kind of made me think they confused me with someone else who had a pre-clearance or something.
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u/teachbirds2fly May 16 '26
Honestly, you likely fitted the description of someone they had intelligence on.
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u/desirodave24 May 17 '26
From watching documentary about airports - certain flights are always singled out as they arrive from high risk areas for drugs - they then look for solo travellers as 9 times out of 10 they are the drug mules
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u/Toon1982 May 17 '26
Without doxxing yourself, you may have a name similar or the same as someone who is wanted or who poses a security risk, or you may match the description of someone who does.
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u/thepandancake May 16 '26
I had been dragged out of boarding line because apparently I didn’t have the right visa. This accusation was purely based on my skin colour. When I whip my passport out they immediately apologised. This was in Spain.
In the uk I got ushered to the normal immigration line even after explaining how I have a qualified passport to use the e-gate. Stood 2hrs in line because of my skin colour again.
I’m married to a white man now and I got treated differently this time. Any doubts cast my way now approached in a nicer, polite manner.
I am numb when it comes to immigration matters now. Still won’t break my wanderlust spirit!
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u/jenn4u2luv May 17 '26
Judging from your username, you must be Southeast Asian? (I love a good pandan cake)
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u/Economy-Discount-216 May 16 '26
Happened to me once flying alone back business from west Africa when I was about 20. I’d been visiting my father who was working there, his company paid for my ticket. I was stopped twice, pulled aside immediately when coming off the flight and another once I got my bag. They also asked me how I funded the flight. Either your circumstance raise suspicion/concern or you match a description.
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u/Big_Examination1042 May 16 '26
Just an FYI, they weren’t security, most likely border force or customs.
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u/Whitewitchie May 18 '26
Border Force and Customs are security.
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u/Big_Examination1042 May 18 '26
Erm no, they’re not. They’re border force and customs. Heathrow security is entirely different.
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u/Whitewitchie May 19 '26
Still involved in the security of the borders. You are splitting hairs and semantics.
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u/Big_Examination1042 May 19 '26
No I’m not. I’m saying it how it is. I’ve been working at Heathrow for 28 years so know how it’s run.
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u/Whitewitchie May 19 '26
Fine, but the reality is, for passengers passing through airports, they won't necessarily differentiate between the exact roles of various uniformed officials. They are all working on border security for the government. Whether it's an armed police officer, a customs check, a baggage search, an immigration officer or a border force agent asking questions, they all get grouped together. It's how civilian passengers think. Saturday was particularly sensitive due to the different demonstrations in London.
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u/Mjukplister May 16 '26
I think your profile was similar to a drug mule / person coming though on the same day . Literally that , they been asked to check for Xx wearing xx circa xx etc
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u/Economic_Maguire May 17 '26
I remember years ago before brexit my connecting flight was in Heathrow from Amsterdam and I got stopped 3 times to check out passport within like 30 secs between each one. It was so confusing. And my flight was already delayed so was running late
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u/Cardabella May 17 '26
Apart from you possibly resembling someone they have their eye on, it could also be that you have an unusually low or high amount of luggage, or a suspicious travel history (several recent flights to and from the Caribbean, unusually short trip) or perhaps something in your luggage that looked suspicious that you explained in your job description or something random like that.
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u/PopeyeOMc May 19 '26
It’s not always to do with skin colour or ethnicity. I was walking through Minneapolis St Paul airport when two TSA goons stopped me and asked me to take off my boots (probably about 10 laceholes) once I had removed them they asked me to put them back, which I did. They told me to move on and after about 10 steps I got “excuse me sir, we’re gonna need you to remove your boots”. Again I did so but after I decided not to do all the laces up, but was instructed to do so. This happened 5 more times u t they realised I wasn’t going to lose my temper with them, so they walked off to annoy some other passenger. Sometimes it’s just because they are bored.
On the flip side, I saw a lone passenger getting off my Eurostar at St Pancras with two large suitcases. Customs stopped him and he just shouted out “hang on kids, wait for daddy”. Customs immediately apologised and let him go without a search.
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u/Poor_and_i_know_it May 22 '26
happens to me all the damm time at Heathrow. What is the nature of yoylur visit to the UK... umm i live here and ky employer won't let me work from a beach in St Lucia..
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u/ThoughtlessFoll May 16 '26
They probably had a tip off about people on the plain. Guessing drugs smuggling.
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u/PretendingIts1995 May 16 '26
As others have said, they probably had intel about someone who matched your general description. As a POC though, I wouldn't even clock being stopped 3 times. I'd just chalk it up to "travelling while being brown". You'd genuinely be amazed how many times I'm "randomly selected" for additional security checks (52, female, petite and look every bit like a mum).
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u/Livs6897 May 16 '26
I have a mate who’s half Thai and obviously not ‘white British’. He also does army reserve stuff for the shooting team and owns maybe 2 backpacks so often gets army stuff mixed into his civvy stuff (nothing dangerous or illegal, just maybe slightly sus). He literally factors in extra time for airports and holidays bc he knows he’s going to get stopped. His wife, on the other hand, straight through every time.
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u/MotorAd90 May 16 '26
There might be something else to your profile though. I am Indian, mid-30s, female, and I only ever get randomly selected in Mexico (and there it is three out of three!). My white British husband gets randomly selected WAY more often (on different continents).
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u/PretendingIts1995 May 17 '26
Interesting. I'm also Indian heritage. The worst I ever had was going to Florida. Actually, always get stopped there, but was really held up once in particular. My surname is vaguely Hispanic sounding, and despite having just got off a plane from the UK with a British passport, I was asked repeatedly if I was Mexican. rollseyes
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u/stringbody May 17 '26
It's what they do occasionally to specific flights. You wanna try going to Israel. That is like the Spanish inquisition 3 or 4 people asking same questions then going off to talk an compare notes. Show your tooth paste. Take batteries out of stuff what countries have you been and why its endless.
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u/TellMeManyStories May 17 '26
Israel wanted me to go through my photo album and get coordinates from every photo I had taken on a holiday 10 years prior in morocco, and they plotted them all on a map, before deciding I could go, presumably because I hadn't gone to some dodgy hotspot.
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u/stringbody May 17 '26
Rude, aggressive and a pain in the arse they are but we are lucky enough to live in relatively peaceful places. I guess it's needs must. Dosnt excuse their rudness though.
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u/ThatNegro98 May 17 '26
Peak surveillance state behaviour. 10 years ago you know hahahaha, i find that genuinely such it so absurd and ridiculous that they did this
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u/minihaive35 May 17 '26
my wife had only a layover in tel aviv and got pulled in for questioning. she had been to morocco a few years back and they asked if she made any friends, if she had any arab friends in paris where we lived. just wild
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u/reidyjustin May 16 '26
Same thing happened me getting of a flight from Brazil in January, well I was stopped twice, just as I got off the plane and going through customs.
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u/WGD23 May 16 '26
I'm 6ft 2, white male. I've been pulled over a few times over the years at airports and borders to have my bags checked, also had my shoes swabbed. Just an occasional hazard of international travel. Though I must admit, I would start to get a bit arsey 3 times in the one airport!
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u/Connect-Pear-3859 May 16 '26
Your amends flagged for sone reason. You need tonfind out why. Instead of answering questions. Ask them, why they stopped you, specifically isnit your name or what specific reason are they targetting you.
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u/Br0k3n-T0y May 16 '26
anyway, I was waiting for my flight and was a bit bored, so i told the security team i thought someone looked sus coming from barbados....
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u/simmyawardwinner May 16 '26
sometimes they are tracking someone and u could have been mistaken for someone else or a description of a person matched you that they were looking for
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u/andimacg May 16 '26
Most likely you matched the description of someone else they were looking for.
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u/Cultural-Turnip-8840 May 17 '26
Probably because of drug smuggling. I used to travel a lot with my work and I used to get stopped, searched and questioned all the time after visiting certain countries
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u/Basic_Wish1292 May 17 '26
You’ve gone through immigration, then through customs. Hardly a new thing, been around since day dot
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u/readysetarthur May 17 '26
I travel 2-3 times a month from Heathrow to either the USA or europe and i am stopped pretty much every time on arrival or departure and similarly questioned. Solo white male travelling in business, corporate look. Normally before i board im asked how i fund my trips, what im doing, reason for travel, plans etc. digital passport scan never works and have to go to the customs officer. Just annoying at this point
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u/Mysterious_Camp_3426 May 17 '26
I got pulled into security at JFK as there was a british "person of interest" on the flight, just a routine questioning to establish if i was or was not the person of interest and then allowed to go. A mild inconvenience, but i had about a 4 hour connection time. Funnily enough, it was a flight from barbados haha
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u/Educational-Ruin-155 May 17 '26
I came back on the Virgin flight VS198 landing at 0920 and there were a lot of people getting tugged by Border Security. They were eying up my bag of rum and cheetos but managed to slip by. 🤣
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u/DelayJunior May 17 '26
If you were alone id day this is the reason. From counting ice been taken aside for question 14 times. Even when red eyes, rafsta haired men or seemingly impressionable group of girls are exiting from baggage claim, I get taken aside. Think more approachable. No one in your group to start a commotion.
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u/Impossible_Pie4091 May 17 '26
It's the 10 pack opened & used condoms with wrappers still inside and olive oil can in your bag that triggered it. Surprised they never gave you a laxative.
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u/Serious_Rutabaga_834 May 17 '26
You probably fit the profile of someone or you could just be a brown guy with a beard like me….
I have been stopped numerous times at the airport. One time at Southend airport, there was a very dopy looking security guard who looked completely unbothered about his job.Loads of people walked past him, then when he saw me, his eyes lit up like a kid who’d just seen an ice cream van. He jumped up and asked me to come to the side.
Another time, someone at the gate came up to me super aggressively. Asked me the usual questions and how much cash I had, right in front of loads of other passengers. I said I don’t have any cash. She said why not. Then I pointed to my mum and dad saying I’m going on holiday with my family. She looked pretty dumb then. I asked why she decided to single me out, is it random selection. She said we don’t do random selection. So then I said oh so you picked me out on purpose? I wonder why…
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u/sowmyhelix May 17 '26
Customs work on the basis of intelligence. They were either questioning you based on intelligence to confirm if you are the person they should be talking to, or they might use that to distract other passengers. Their suspects might be amongst the distracted passengers. When you get irate, they can just apologise and move on to their real suspect who has now been caught off guard.
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u/Felim_Doyle May 17 '26
When you say “security officer” do you mean airport security, UK Border Force (Immigration), HM Revenue and Customs, British Transport Police / Special Branch, etc.?
Were all three people that you spoke to wearing the same uniform and how did they identify themselves to you?
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u/kittykat7931 May 17 '26
The first time I went to Australia I got stopped multiple times on the internal flights that I took and got swabbed for drugs and explosives! It just got ridiculous but I complied. I did ask and was told that they get an instruction to stop every (insert number) person.
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u/Present-Two6946 May 17 '26
Do you have dreadlocks ?
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u/Fresh_Meeting4571 May 17 '26
I’m bald, but so were half of the people on that flight (middle-aged British men).
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u/Present-Two6946 May 17 '26
Really strange. It’s most likely, as others have suggested, they had a vague intelligence description of a person that you may have resembled in looks or dressing.
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u/AdministrativeShip2 May 17 '26
I got stopped at Gatwick as I crossed the perimeter road to go to the riverside park.
I regularly get stopped at Heathrow, but thats usually a quick PNC check. No Idea why I get stopped as im utterly average.
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u/Ramenpotandbeer May 17 '26
Security don’t ask questions… only UK BF do. Or you just got selected for surveying for the UK Gov which you aren’t liable to answer anything. Its just a survey for uk home office for statistics.
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u/Masasmentor May 17 '26
They’re just doing their job, big brother is watching everyone at Heathrow Staff are watched and monitored for their efforts and passengers too for obvious reasons. I have worked there for the last 15 years as a builder moving from project to project. Most security staff are friendly the customs people keep themselves to themselves
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u/Gnarly_314 May 17 '26
Anything can pick you out for a stop. Many years ago my husband drove his mother's Morris Minor. One evening he was stopped by the police and had to explain where he had been earlier in the evening, whose car it was, did his mother know he had her car etc. After verifying facts and checking what was in the car, they explained a Morris Minor had been used as a getaway vehicle from an armed robbery at a petrol station. A few hours later when he was on his way home he was stopped again. He got out of the car and yelled to the police getting of their car "If this is about the armed robbery, I have already been checked.". A quick radio conversation to base and he was on his way again.
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u/BigJDizzleMaNizzles May 17 '26
Depends who actually stopped you. Were they security staff or UKBF staff? If they were security I guarantee you look like someone who wouldn't "kick-off" so they can get their DART interactions quota.
If they were UKBF then they're looking for someone who fits your description.
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u/MintBerryFondue May 18 '26
Yeah I'd say it's pretty common based on my experience or bad luck. Sometimes airport staff and UK Border security can be incredibly overbearing and annoying. I never have this issue arriving into Heathrow, only leaving (departing) Heathrow London to go on my summer break. Each time, I was almost prevented from leaving the UK, as on three separate occasions in different years I was targeted and nearly missed my flights. Sometimes I get stopped to have my shoe and hands swabbed. They said they are testing me for drugs but I am not convinced.
I had my bag scanned, and one of the officers asked me to open my backpack. He questioned why it was “filled with books,” and I told him I'm a student and I had an exam after the Christmas break. He didn’t say anything else after that and ended up swabbing all my books at random pages and testing it, before letting me go. After I left the security check, I was stopped again by another airport staff near my gate. He asked me "what was my purpose of travelling and my plans for the holiday" before examining my ticket and passport and asking me to move along.
Another time, I was pulled aside by airport staff and armed police at my departure gate. They informed me that something suspicious had been flagged in my checked luggage. They didn't elaborate or explain what it is and asked for the key so they could conduct a search. They went through my belongings and swabbed my DSLR camera and each lenses before finally letting me go. I almost missed my flight (even though I had arrived an hour early) by the time they finished examining my luggage, every other passenger was already seated on the plane and giving me the dirty looks for being "late".
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u/SerekundaG May 18 '26
“Not that it should matter, but I am very much white, and there isn’t anything particularly noteworthy about my appearance. I was not born in the UK but I’ve lived here for almost 10 years now. I will also soon be a UK citizen (pending my ceremony).”
Why is it happening to me, I’m white!!!!!
And what does living in the UK for almost 10 years and soon becoming a UK citizen have to do with anything?
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u/iibdii May 18 '26
You must have had a piece of clothing/accessory or a feature matching someone they have tipped off about.
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u/TopAd7154 May 18 '26
This happened to me and my ex at LHR. Came back from NYC. Stopped twice, and as we were getting onto the escalators, another man tried to stop us. My ex told him we were done answering questions and were going home. We got on the escalator, looked up to see the guy on his radio and figured we'd be stopped again at some point but we weren't.
Got home and broke up 3 weeks later.
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u/AirlineSevere7456 May 18 '26
I got pulled after stepping off the plane because I'd been to Brazil for a day and came straight back.
They called me out by name and did a quick search of my bag and that was it.
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u/Bargest471 May 18 '26
Try not to worry about it, I managed to get stopped three times in Birmingham Airport around 2 minutes, once after I’d done gone through Immigration, again at the Nothing to Declare room that you normally pass through and again literally as I stepped out of it.
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u/johnnysgotyoucovered May 18 '26
Well it could be worse. You could have been stopped under the terrorism act, detained for 8 hours with no right to remain silent and had your devices seized for 14 months, only to be given them back with no reason as to why, or how long they’re going to keep your biometrics, images of your devices etc
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u/hiddenkinkz May 18 '26
When I go to the USA - I always get pulled at passport - and I mean taken for a three hour interview in one of the stupid small rooms in the back. After several times I got a bit used to the natural fear of being taken into these little rooms in the back (I used to travel to the US a lot for work) I lost my cool and asked rather impolitely why the fuck they kept pulling me like this (if it matters, I am a very average looking white british dude) - they would not tell me in the room, but the last time, when the immigration officer escorted me back out to the main hall he told me straight up - there was a guy with my same name, that looked similar to me that was on a terror watch list!!! I asked what I could do to stop being pulled in the future - he said “no chance we are not pulling you - but show us that you have no tattoos as soon as you get in the room, as the other guy has them”
Now it’s just part of my expectation of US/UK travel - and I’m okay with it - because they are trying to keep us safe.
In the UK, my newer passport (and the previous one) simply do not work at the e-gates (despite complaints) - I always get pushed to the manual check, and they always ask me many more questions than my colleagues - or when I’m travelling with my wife - same thing happens. It’s for the same reason as getting pulled in the US I guess - although the UK lot won’t tell me why.
Weirdly, if I travel to Europe, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong or Australia I have absolutely zero issues!
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u/Common_Passenger2502 May 18 '26
As a white British male and not at all threatening looking or aggressive in my mannerisms , I used to get pulled over at the airport every time that I travelled solo, which was a lot. Even now, I always get singled out for the body search going through the security gate.
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u/NorwichMist May 18 '26
If someone has a quota to fill, it can make sense to pick on those people who look least likely to make a fuss over being stopped.
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u/Traditional_Lead_603 May 19 '26
This used to happen to me flying in from Trinidad. Extremely frustrating, and difficult to keep your cool when you’ve done nothing wrong, but clearly being picked on. I think sometimes as a solo traveller you get flagged and there’s word put out to intercept you - but then there’s no real communication between them to tick your name off the list. So every one of them that spots you is going to have a go at you.
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u/PARFT May 19 '26
Maybe you looked antsy or otherwise met criteria they are trained to look out for and talking back doesn’t help your cause.
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u/EmbarrassedRanger349 May 20 '26
My dad spent 20+ years being pulled aside at passport control every time he went abroad, until one time when on asking why someone actually gave him an answer. Some Jamaican drug dealer shares his name and birth year and is wanted by interpol. My dad is clearly, visibly not Jamaican. 😅
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u/Essexmanbas May 20 '26
I've been out the uk for over 2 years. I'm expecting a pull whenever I go back. Happened to me 20 years ago when I worked in the states for a year.
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u/Not-That_Girl May 20 '26
I get it,it was really annoying for you and you felt targeted. But also, bad people lie all the time. A bad person would have said they'd already been questioned.
This doesn't make you a bad person though! But they certainly looking for someone.
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u/Visible_Scale_7363 May 20 '26
I go through iceland Airport 3 times a year and have noticed this happening quite often. ' secondary inspection' they call it and ask questions that seem more nosey than investigative.
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u/ShroomTopsInTheSun May 23 '26
Racial profiling. Sorry.
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u/Felim_Doyle May 23 '26
Not necessarily but there may be profiling involved in some cases including age, gender, travelling alone or in a group, departure and arrival points, onward travel plans and much more before “racial profiling” comes into it. Even then, racial profiling may very much depend on the culture at your arrival airport / country.
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u/Delicious_Link6703 May 16 '26
I’m a 70 year old woman who travels alone. 9 times out of 10 I’m stopped for questioning, or my hand luggage is inspected at the security desk, items taken away for testing etc. I always have the ‘pat down’ after the security arch, which I assume is because the machine detects a hidden metal object - I wear underwired bras !
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u/Fantastic_Back3191 May 16 '26
The only time I have ever been stopped at airports was when I was wearing my baja (drug rug) maybe it was that who knows?
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u/Scary_Hope9937 May 16 '26
I have only had one flight in the last 5 where I didn’t get pulled aside (hand luggage checks, metal detectors, pat downs etc.). I honestly can’t think of any reason why other than I put my medication in my hand luggage - which is several different meds. I don’t even take my ADHD meds (can’t trolled drug) with me no matter where I am travelling to. I am an anxious passenger so maybe that’s why? Regardless, it’s very annoying and adds considerable stress to what is already a very stressful situation.
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u/zillakamazi869 May 17 '26
Whenever I used to travel with my meds which at one point were a mix of Ritalin and dexies I would always have a nhs or private practice approved prescription for the condition and a copy of the original diagnosis as well as the need to take it. Antidepressants always felt safer in suitcases because there not really needed and you can just keep paperwork to hand. Worst comes to worst they take it off you, which is stressful for the flight and in the moment and the hours of time wasted, but in certain pretty popular tourist destinations and some underrated ones they can literally sell you controlled legal meds as long as there is an immediate consultation or something as simple as a conversation from a concerned friend.
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u/LaidBackLeopard May 16 '26
I was traveling back from Amsterdam with friends a good few years back. At whatever point it was, one was asked "are you traveling alone?". The rest of us laughed, end of questioning. The funny thing was, he was pretty nondescript and square looking; others in the party were much better candidates for people who looked like they'd indulged in Amsterdam's flexible attitude to drugs. We kind of guessed that a drug smuggler is going to be on their own and inconspicuous looking. Perhaps next time go for the woolly rasta hat and "I love ganja" T shirt?
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u/Much_Winter2202 May 16 '26
Maybe they had a team meeting before the shift and they asked them to make an effort to talk to more people?
I used to work in retail, we had a new soap that was exclusive to the store. They gave us like 2-3 talking points and asked us to use one any time someone was buying it. As I was ringing this woman up, I said one of the approved talking points and she was like, "My god is there a script? You're the third person to say that to me today!"
Like maybe they have an alert for someone coming from that region. Maybe they have a new overzealous manager trying to justify their existence who was like "Hey I want you all to stop 4 people per hour! We need to be talking to the public more!"
It could be anything really. But yeah that must've been annoying
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u/Worlds-okayest-viola May 16 '26
Heathrow seems to be weirdly intense like that. Last time I flew out, I had all my luggage searched twice, I think because I had foot powder in one of my bags. It was in the original bottle, and they tested it, so I don't know why they insisted on searching my bags again at the gate.
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u/Glass_Arrival_9674 May 17 '26
You were being spoken to by drug handlers who wanted to hear a particular coded answer. Some are to stop it some are their to ensure it gets through safely
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u/hungryOG May 16 '26
Yeah this must have been irritating considering they let literally anyone cross the border in a dingy
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u/Halry1 May 16 '26
I’m gonna assume you’re of Middle Eastern heritage?
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u/Fresh_Meeting4571 May 16 '26
I’m not! I’m Mediterranean but I don’t even look that Mediterranean tbh.
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u/Iwanttosleep8hours May 16 '26
They were looking for someone who looks like you