Ulm (dpa / lsw) - With a new mobile X-ray machine, Ulmer customs officers have foiled cigarette smuggling on the Autobahn 8. In a fully loaded van with a trailer from France, they x-rayed the luggage on Tuesday and found 32 packs of Romanian cigarettes and 36 bottles of alcohol. According to the main customs office in Ulm on Wednesday, the tax damage amounts to 1230 euros. The 47-year-old driver had to pay by quick transfer, criminal proceedings were instituted against him for tax evasion and a penalty of 1,200 euros was charged.
The officials had only used the new mobile X-ray machine for the second time. At the premiere a few days earlier, they had found 26 cartons of untaxed cigarettes. The "Scan-Van" works like the so-called soft emitters for luggage at airports. The main customs office in Ulm thus completes the special unit for large-scale X-ray technology, which is intended to combat smuggling on transit routes.
