Monkey meat and shoeboxes: summer at the Kloten customs desk

During the summer months, officers of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security work at full stretch at Zurich-Kloten airport. Thousands of passengers a day produce a casebook that ranges from forgetfulness to outright smuggling.

The rule that generates the most penalties concerns the value of imported goods. Since 1 January 2025 the allowance has fallen from 300 to 150 francs per person. Many travellers only discover this at the checkpoint. "Unfortunately, not knowing does not avoid a penalty," customs officers say. The standard fine ranges from 50 to 100 francs.

The way passengers are picked out for checks is not random. "If there are three new shoeboxes on the trolley, we put two and two together," officers explain. The rest comes from the flight's origin, from behaviour and from accumulated experience.

The meat case

In July a woman arriving from Italy declared less meat than she was carrying. Officers seized 6.8 kilos, 3.8 of them above the permitted amount, and the fine came to 166 francs. Limits on products of animal origin are not fiscal but sanitary: they exist to contain the risk of introducing animal diseases, in particular African swine fever, present in several European countries.

The list of summer seizures also includes goods of other kinds: monkey meat, products derived from animals protected by the convention on trade in endangered species, cigarettes above the permitted quantity, medicines, erectile stimulants, narcotics and weapons. A couple arriving from Argentina via Madrid was stopped with undeclared products.

Anyone returning to Ticino from Italy meets the same rules at road crossings, where the proportion of checks is nonetheless lower than at an airport. The allowances are identical and apply per person, children included.