Customs officers stopped the export of a meteorite fragment weighing more than 2.5 tons to Britain.

A fragment of the Aletai meteorite weighing over 2.5 tons was prevented from being illegally exported to the UK by Baltic customs officers. This was announced on February 5 by the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of Russia.

It is noted that this product was detected during scanning of a sea container in the port of St. Petersburg.

It has been established that the fragment was imported to Russia from one of the EAEU countries. When trying to export it, it was declared as a sculpture for landscape design. Upon detailed inspection, it turned out that the origin and value of the cargo differ from the information stated in the declaration.

The examination revealed that this is a large fragment of the Aletai and its cost is about 323 million rubles. A criminal case has been opened under the article on the smuggling of strategically important goods. The investigation is ongoing.

January 26 — International Customs Officer's Day: history, traditions, congratulations

On January 26, the Federal Customs Service reported on the most unusual items seized during the inspection of passengers and luggage in recent years. At Domodedovo airport, employees of the department found almost 50 kg of natural human hair in the luggage of a 37‑year-old foreigner.

One day, the agency added, a passenger was detained, whose luggage contained volcanic sand with a 15-fold excess of the natural radiation background.

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