2500 seizures this year

Flood of passengers leads to more smuggling again

Smugglers also cause animal suffering. Among other things, six live kittens were smuggled out of Istanbul.(Bild: BMF/Zoll)

"Do you have anything to declare?" - The answer is not always honest. 120 kilograms of drugs, 15,000 pieces of illegal medication and over 2,800 cartons of cigarettes were seized by officials, mainly at Vienna Airport, during almost 21,000 checks. 14 live animals were also rescued.

The airport in Vienna is currently recording very high passenger numbers, most recently breaking an all-time record of 113,000 passengers in one day. This also means more smuggling. The customs department of the Federal Ministry of Finance recorded 2,500 seizures in the first six months, over 5 percent more than in the previous year. 1.2 million euros in undeclared cash was found.

Almost 80 sticks on board a flight from Cairo
Cigarettes are a classic. Despite a permitted upper limit (up to 800 cigarettes per person), 2850 cartons of cigarettes were seized, most of which were legal tobacco products that had not been cleared through customs. In some cases, however, counterfeit "Tschick" were also fished out. The most spectacular large-scale seizures were made during flights in mid-February with 15,600 cigarettes (almost 80 cartons) from Cairo. However, the largest find in terms of quantity was 400 cartons of cigarettes from Lagos, which were withdrawn from circulation a good two months ago.

A large number of cigarettes are smuggled every year.(Bild: BMF/Zoll)

Smugglers also cause animal suffering, and according to the tax office there has been a worrying increase in the number of seizures. Among other things, six live kittens were smuggled out of Istanbul. Customs were able to rescue them and hand them over to a rescue center. A total of 14 animals were found in the first half of the year. These are usually brought to Austria to be sold to new pet owners, who are usually left in the dark about their history.

Smugglers also cause animal suffering. Among other things, six live kittens were smuggled out of Istanbul.(Bild: BMF/Zoll)

Food and alcohol are also often smuggled in huge quantities - this also happens on the street. In a coach from Moldova, officials found 474 liters of alcohol and 829 kilos 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 narcotics seized
In just 20 drug seizures, well over 100 kilos of narcotics were found, including 3.9 kg of cannabis and 120 kilos of khat as well as 77 pieces of psychotropic substances. At the beginning of March, customs officers from the mobile control unit seized around 1.8 kilos of cannabis in a postal consignment from Bangkok. In mid-May, they seized 120 kilos of khat from Tel Aviv. Khat is a plant that has a stimulating effect similar to MDMA (ecstasy). As it is only found in remote areas, it is usually transported on airplanes. In addition to narcotics, numerous illegal medicines are also in circulation: 352 kilos or 4,969 pieces of counterfeit or illegal medicines were seized.