- Customs uncovers smuggling of luxury handbags
Customs officers at Bremen Airport foiled the smuggling of several luxury handbags worth 10,000 euros. The officers discovered the bags on Sunday in the delayed luggage of a 36-year-old woman, the Bremen Main Customs Office reported. The woman had arrived at Bremen Airport several days earlier from Albania, but part of her luggage arrived late. When she picked it up, she did not declare any valuable goods to customs. However, the officers wanted to be sure and checked, finding bags with the labels of well-known luxury goods manufacturers. The woman could not provide receipts for the bags and her claim that they were old and therefore of little value did not help - according to customs, they were new and not counterfeit. In the end, duties of almost 2,400 euros became due for the luxury bags, and the officers initiated a tax evasion investigation.
The smuggling attempt was a clear instance of potential tax evasion related to the luxury handbags. This criminal act could lead to severe consequences for the woman.
