Support The Moscow Times!

$193,000 in Smuggled Goods Seized in Central Moscow

A batch of illegally imported luxury goods estimated to be worth 12.5 million rubles ($192,600) has been seized by the Russian Federal Customs Service, the Vedomosti newspaper reported Thursday.

The case is believed to be the largest smuggling find in the last 25 years, said Alexander Smelyakov, head of the Customs' Department's Public Relations team.

More than 1900 luxury branded watches and 217 items of jewelry were among the smuggled goods found in a non-residential building in central Moscow.

More than 40 criminal charges have been brought against the limited liability company responsible for transporting the goods. The company, named only as "G," provided documents claiming that the goods had passed customs.

A joint investigation conducted with help of the customs authorities of Italy and the Baltics confirmed that duty had not been paid and that the documents were fake, Vedomosti reported.

Two of the 44 criminal charges have been brought before Moscow's Tagansky court so far. In those cases, the transportation company was found guilty of an administrative offense and had nine watches worth more than 290 million rubles ($4,4 million) and consumer goods worth over 60 million rubles ($924,480) seized, the Moskva news agency reported Thursday.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more