Record cocaine discovery in Bremerhaven: Bremer Zoll takes stock

• Customs seized 1.4 tons of cocaine in Bremerhaven in October
• Tax revenue of the main customs office in Bremen decreased due to the pandemic
• Investigations lead to maximum value for damage caused by moonlighting

The main customs office in Bremen presented its results for 2020 on Tuesday. Only now did the officials announce a cocaine find of 1.4 tons in October last year in Bremerhaven. The drugs from South America were hidden in banana boxes and discovered by employees of a transshipment company. Customs estimate the street sales value of the seized drug at 150 million euros. The investigation was carried out by the Hamburg Customs Investigation Office, but for tactical reasons the find has only now been published.

Cocaine seized reaches record level

According to the customs authorities, the amount accounts for the majority of the record value of 1.5 million tons of cocaine seized. “This cocaine shipment shows that Bremerhaven, the fourth largest container port in Europe, is still considered a gateway to Europe for cocaine smugglers,” said the head of the main customs office in Bremen, Nicole Tödter. In March of last year, the customs officers were also able to seize over 500 kilograms of hashish with an estimated street price of around 4 million euros. They discovered the drugs in the false floor of a pickup truck in a parking lot on the A1 near Achim.

Customs tax revenue is falling due to Corona

The tax revenue of the main customs office in Bremen fell to almost 3.9 billion euros in 2020. That is around 400 million euros less than in the previous year. According to customs information, however, revenues are still higher than those from 2017. The greatest decline was recorded in customs duties and import sales tax. The reasons are the lower imports of goods due to the pandemic and the temporary reduction in the import sales tax rate. Overall, according to customs, the annual balance is under the influence of the pandemic. For example, the import of relief supplies and protective equipment was prioritized.

Tobacco, weapons and moonlighting are other focal points

Another focus of the main customs office was securing untaxed tobacco products. Cigarettes and cigars fell from almost 300,000 in the previous year to 175,000 in 2020. The amount of water pipe tobacco has increased significantly by 275 kilograms to almost one ton. According to customs, seizures of weapons and weapon parts have fallen by half compared to the previous year, but compared to the past, they are still noticeable. In the area of ​​brand and product piracy, customs confiscated goods worth 2.5 million euros last year. A corona-related halving compared to the previous year. Undeclared work investigations led to a new high in 2020 with a total loss of over 26 million euros.

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This topic in the program:
Bremen Eins, Nachrichten, May 4, 2021, 2 p.m.

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