“Do you have something to declare?” – the answer is not always honest. Officials seized 120 kilos of drugs, 15,000 illegal medicines and more than 2,800 cartons of cigarettes during almost 21,000 checks, mainly at Vienna Airport. 14 live animals were also rescued.
Vienna Airport is currently registering very high passenger numbers; recently a record of 113,000 passengers was broken in one day. This also brings with it more smuggling. The customs department of the BMF registered 2,500 seizures in the first six months, more than 5 percent more than in the previous year.
Nearly 80 fishing rods on board a flight from Cairo
Cigarettes are a classic. Despite a permitted upper limit (up to 800 pieces per person), 2,850 cartons of cigarettes were seized, most of which were legal but not excise-paid tobacco products. Evidence of fake ‘Tschick’ is also being partially recovered. The most spectacular large-scale seizures took place in mid-February on flights with 15,600 cigarettes (almost 80 cartons) from Cairo. The largest find in terms of quantity were 400 cartons of cigarettes from Lagos, which were withdrawn from circulation more than two months ago.
Smugglers also cause animal suffering. Among other things, six live kittens were smuggled out of Istanbul. Customs were able to rescue them and hand them over to a shelter. In total, 14 animals were found in the first half of the year. These are usually brought to Austria to be sold to new pet owners, but their history usually remains unclear.
Food and alcohol are also often smuggled in large quantities – this also happens on the streets. In a bus from Moldova, officials found 474 liters of alcohol and 829 kilograms of food, probably not exclusively for personal consumption. In addition to alcohol and cigarettes, numerous drugs also enter Austria illegally.
Cannabis & Co.: Large quantities of drugs seized
In just 20 drug seizures, 120 kilograms of narcotics were found, including 3.9 kg of cannabis and 120 kg of khat, as well as 77 units of psychotropic substances. In early March, customs officers from the mobile inspection unit seized approximately 1.8 kilograms of cannabis in a shipment from Bangkok. In mid-May, they seized 120 kilograms of khat from Tel Aviv. Khat is a plant that has a stimulant effect, similar to MDMA (ecstasy). Since it is only found in more remote areas, it is usually transported by plane. In addition to drugs, there are also numerous prohibited medicines in circulation: 352 kilograms or 4,969 units of counterfeit or illegal medicines were seized.
In addition to drugs, there are also numerous prohibited medicines in circulation: 352 kilos and 4,969 units of counterfeit or illegal medicines were seized.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
