Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
The contraband was discovered during an X-ray screening of the travellers’ luggage. The bag owner, an Azerbaijani national with permanent residence in Ukraine, was subsequently requested to open it.
“The customs officers in a thorough inspection of the luggage found consumer packages containing cigarettes and bearing Ukrainian duty stamps – a total of 14,800 cigarettes,” said Košice Customs Office spokesperson Natália Zadubanová, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “The estimated customs, VAT and excise tax evasion was calculated to exceed €2,000.”
The Azerbaijani case was transferred to the criminal department of the Financial Administration, she added.
