Customs officers of Tatarstan detained a smuggler with bags made of reptile leather.

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       Customs officers of Tatarstan detained a smuggler with bags made of reptile skin

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       Customs officers of Tatarstan detained a smuggler with bags made of reptile skin

      

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      Customs officers of Tatarstan detained a smuggler with bags made of reptile skin (photo: Wikimedia Commons / Clever Life)

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       A man who arrived from Istanbul attempted to bring over a hundred items made of rare reptile skin into Kazan, reported the Federal Customs Service of Russia.

       At Kazan airport, customs officers thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large batch of products made from rare reptile skin. According to the Federal Customs Service, the passenger of the flight from Istanbul intended to import into Russia 612 wallets, purses, and women's bags made of python, crocodile, monitor lizard, and snake skin. "The smuggling was detected during customs control of the luggage of a 39-year-old passenger from Istanbul. He was carrying in his suitcase wallets, purses, and women's bags totaling 612 pieces," the press service of the agency quoted RIA Novosti. As stated in the message, the value of the seized items is estimated by experts at 2 million rubles. During the inspection, the man provided a CITES certificate, which was supposed to confirm the legality of the products he was importing. However, the examination established that the document was forged.

      Based on the fact of smuggling, a decision was made to initiate a criminal case under the article on the movement of strategically important goods, which provides for up to 5 years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 1 million rubles. It was previously reported that employees of the Tatarstan customs thwarted a large-scale scheme for the illegal transfer of funds abroad, which was organized single-handedly by a 51-year-old resident of Kazan. Despite the carefully thought-out mechanism using modern technologies, operatives managed to uncover the criminal activity and establish all the circumstances of the incident.

       Arina Mikhailova

      

      

      

      

      

       Published: 07.11.2025 10:47

       Edited: 07.11.2025 10:47