http://theage.com.au/articles/2003/04/02/1048962794237.html
Euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke was subject to customs questioning early this morning, as he departed Melbourne airport.
Dr Nitschke was waiting in a customs queue before boarding a flight to New Zealand on a speaking tour when he was asked to accompany officers to a side room.
"I was pulled out of the queue by customs and told to wait because they wanted to take matters further," Dr Nitschke told ABC Radio.
"I've got no idea what that means but it's obviously yet again to do with the supposed taking out of devices that might assist in suicide in contravention of these new customs regulations the federal government has brought in."
Dr Nitschke said he did not have any suicide devices either with him or in his luggage.
Customs officials described the procedure as routine and said no incident was reported.
"Dr Nitschke wasn't detained and no goods were removed," the spokesman said this morning.
"I'm not aware that his bags were searched. It was a simple matter of being questioned by customs officials," the spokesman said.
In January Dr Nitschke had his prototype death machine confiscated at Sydney Airport, along with a set of drawstring plastic ``exit bags'' as he boarded a flight to the US. The machine, which cost almost $20,000 to develop, is known as COGen. It administers a rapid lethal dose of carbon monoxide through nose tubes to users.
Federal legislation introduced last year prohibits the export or import of products related to suicide.
