Swiss customs confiscate large haul of chicken and chips

Several tonnes of chips and chicken were seized at Swiss customs officers near Basel earlier this month. Keystone-SDA

Swiss customs officers seized large quantities of chicken, frozen chips, mayonnaise and ketchup smuggled into Switzerland near Basel earlier this month.

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On March 9, officials from the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) stopped a Swiss-registered vehicle from Germany at the Pratteln motorway service station in canton Basel. The 35-year-old driver was found to be transporting 1.5 tonnes of frozen chips, 75kg of various chicken products, 100kg of mayonnaise and 79kg of ketchup.

“The vehicle was not a refrigerated lorry, which constitutes a breach of food safety regulations,” the office said in a statement on Monday. Customs duties had not been paid and the maximum authorised weight had been exceeded.

Another lorry was intercepted the following day carrying chicken (110kg) and chips (2 tonnes). Once again, refrigeration rules had not been respected.

Federal officials have opened criminal proceedings in both cases, seized the foodstuffs and reported the drivers because the vehicles were overloaded.

Adapted from French by AI/sb

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