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🇩🇪 Germany /Energy & Infrastructure

Customs at BER Airport Conduct Significantly More Checks Amidst Rising Passenger Numbers

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency New plan
  • Customs at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) significantly increased controls in the past year, conducting around 662,000 checks.
  • This resulted in the detection of approximately 9,300 violations, a notable rise from the roughly 7,700 violations found in the previous year.
  • The increase in controls is attributed to higher passenger volume, with a focus on undeclared tobacco imports and gold discovered on flights from Turkey and Dubai, respectively.

Customs officials at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) have intensified their control measures, carrying out a substantially higher number of checks in the past year. According to a spokesperson for the Main Customs Office in Potsdam, approximately 662,000 controls were conducted, a significant increase compared to the nearly 500,000 checks performed in the year prior.

In the past year, around 662,000 controls were carried out.

· Spokesperson for the Main Customs Office PotsdamReporting the total number of customs controls at BER airport.

These enhanced inspections led to the identification of around 9,300 violations in the past year, up from approximately 7,700 violations detected in the previous year. The majority of these violations involved the undeclared import of tobacco products.

In 2024, there were significantly fewer, with just under 500,000 controls.

· Spokesperson for the Main Customs Office PotsdamProviding a comparative figure for the previous year's controls.

The spokesperson attributed the rise in control activities directly to the increased passenger traffic at BER. "As a result of the increased passenger volume at BER, more luggage was automatically checked," she explained. These controls are guided by intelligence assessments, such as the frequent discovery of tobacco on flights originating from Turkey and gold on flights from Dubai.

Last year, officials detected around 9,300 violations.

· Spokesperson for the Main Customs Office PotsdamStating the number of violations found during the increased controls.

"The crucial point is that customs identifies risks, uncovers criminal offenses, and combats organized crime," the spokesperson emphasized, highlighting the operational goals behind the increased scrutiny at the airport.

In 2024, there were about 7,700 detected violations.

· Spokesperson for the Main Customs Office PotsdamProviding the number of violations found in the previous year.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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