American woman jailed for smuggling 24-carat gold plated gun into Australia

An American woman told Australian Border Force officers she “forgot” she had a 24-carat gold plated pistol in her hand luggage when she arrived in Australia.

An American traveller has been jailed for smuggling a 24-carat gold-plated gun worth $2000 into Australia in her hand luggage.

Liliana Goodson, 29, faced Sydney Downing Centre Court on Monday after pleading guilty to two charges of intentionally importing a prohibited firearm and prohibited ammunition.

She was arrested at Sydney airport on April 23 last year after Australian Border Force officers discovered a custom Colt 45-style pistol hidden in her hand luggage.

The weapon was discovered after the luggage passed through an X-ray machine at the busy airport.

US resident Liliana Goodson has been jailed for importing a gun into Australia. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

When the ABF officer asked if there was anything in her bag they should know about, she replied “maybe some scissors”.

She was then asked if she had a gun, to which she replied: “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”

“Do you have a permit for that?” the officer asked.

“Back in Alabama,” Goodson responded.

Goodson told officers she “wasn’t sure” if she had ammunition in her bag alongside the valuable weapon.

However, she admitted she had shipped 50 rounds of ammunition to Australia which was the wrong calibre for her handgun.

Magistrate Susan Horan said the ammunition “may very well not have been detected” without her co-operation, which warranted a “significant” reduction in penalty for that charge.

Goodson told ABF officers that she had flown from Los Angeles on a working holiday visa to attend clown school in Sydney.

She explained she thought she needed the gun “for protection”, but she was scared of firing it.

The gun was plated with 24-carat gold.

The court was told Goodson had conducted a revealing online search days before flying out of the US, asking: “can I have a gun in my suitcase?”

She then created a reminder in her phone to prompt her to pack the pistol in her hand luggage for the journey.

Ms Horan found that the gun was “very confronting” and that the custom weapon “would terrify members of the community”.

“She did not have permission to import the firearm or the ammunition to Australia,” she said.

“There is a significant need for general deterrence … Australia has a strong stance on firearms.”

A report tendered to the court determined Goodson had shown “limited insight” into her offending and its impact on the community.

The court heard that Goodson had been using cannabis and psychedelics heavily in the leadup to her fateful journey.

She had heard that Sydney was safe and decided to leave the USA, but her drug use had left her “paranoid daily” and “unsure if she would need a firearm in Australia”.

Goodson’s jail term was backdated to November. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

She will be released next year. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Though Goodson submitted a clean urinalysis sample as evidence, Ms Horan found this proved her sobriety “one time only” and was not an adequate indication of long-term abstinence.

“I am still concerned about the long-standing drug use,” she said.

She sentenced Goodson to 12 months imprisonment and ordered she be released after four months.

The US national was also penalised $1000 and ordered to be on good behaviour for the next two years. She must participate in drug counselling upon her release.

She appeared uncomfortable as she was directed to hand over her jewellery and remove various facial piercings before being taken into custody by three sheriffs.