The fiancee of British soccer star Wayne Rooney was detained and questioned by customs officials as she returned to the UK from a shopping trip to New York, newspaper reports said on Wednesday.
Coleen McLoughlin was detained for two hours after she was stopped in the "nothing to declare" channel at Manchester airport in northern England.
The 18-year-old had been "entirely unaware" that she needed to pay duty on the treasure trove of designer goods she had amassed during her stay in New York, a spokesman for McLoughlin was quoted as saying.
"She was entirely unaware that
Rooney, 18, who made his debut for English Premier League club Manchester United last weekend, had treated McLoughlin to a pre-Christmas shopping trip with two girlfriends, the reports said.
Travellers returning to Britain from the U.S. are permitted to bring in valuables worth no more than 145 pounds ($259), in addition to an allowance for cigarettes and spirits. Excesses require the traveller to pay VAT and import duty, about 20 percent in total.