Lake Constance: a man in a smuggled Ferrari pretends to be a customs officer

A customs patrol caught two men from Greece smuggling a Ferrari F430 Spider in Lindau last week. It has now emerged that the passenger is said to have impersonated a Greek customs officer during the inspection, according to the press office of the central customs office in Ulm. His deception attempt was unsuccessful, explains spokeswoman Sarah Mayer. In any case, the man’s knowledge of customs was easily controlled. “He knew nothing about customs regulations and the required documents.”

The two men had previously bought the silver sports car in Switzerland for around 30,000 euros and said they wanted to take it to friends in Munich, according to the customs report. However, the 54-year-old driver had not declared the car to customs when entering the EU. The customs officials therefore initiated criminal tax charges against him and, in addition to the import duty of 9270 euros, collected a security deposit of 1500 euros. The owner paid it on the spot before the men continued their journey.

Why did customs officers see a sports car?

As Mayer explains, customs officials were aware of the car because of a Swiss export license – “a clear sign that the car was not intended to remain in Switzerland,” the spokesman said. These license numbers have a red line on the right edge where the last date of approval is specified. “Since the car was imported here by Germany, import duty should be paid on it.”

A Ferrari for only 30,000 euros?

The low purchase price of the car was also discovered by the customs officials. In many car portals, this car model is also offered for 100,000 to 120,000 euros. According to Mayer, this Ferrari is a used car that is several years old. “Drivers were able to show the invoice from the dealer.”

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At the border crossing near Lindau, cars are toll-free several times a year, according to the spokesman. It is rare for cars to be shipped from Switzerland to Germany. “One cannot talk about the popular type of smuggling, since cars in Switzerland are not cheaper than in Germany.”