- Customs authorities uncover a concealed stash of approximately 300,000 illicit cigarettes.
Along the A2 highway near Magdeburg, authorities confiscated 300,000 smuggled cigarettes during a regular inspection. The perpetrator took off, as per the news by the Magdeburg Main Customs Office. As per the report, officials planned to inspect a van at the Magdeburg-Kannenstieg highway exit on a Thursday, but the driver unexpectedly sped away towards Hannover. The officials pursued and eventually found the deserted vehicle on the shoulder of the Magdeburg interchange. Inside, they found 300,000 untaxed and presumably fake cigarettes. If these were legitimate cigarettes, they would have owed approximately 79,000 euros in taxes. The source of the cigarettes is yet to be identified.
The officers spotted a man running through unruffled crops beside the highway. Despite deploying a drone by specialized police forces, the manhunt ended in vain. Now, the inquiry has been handed over to the Customs Investigation Office in Hannover.
The confiscated cigarettes were likely part of a larger, untabled crime operation. The happenings along the A2 highway near Magdeburg and Hannover have raised concerns about organized smuggling activities.
