Belarus customs find antler horde hidden in fuel tank By News from Elsewhere...

...as found by BBC Monitoring Published duration 25 July 2018

image copyright Belarusian Customs Committee image caption What 92 kg of antlers look like

Belarusian customs officers have stopped a man trying to smuggle more than 90 kg (14 stone) of antlers into the country, hidden in the fuel container of a car.

The officers at the Makrany border crossing in the west of the country were suspicious of the car heading straight for the green "nothing to declare" channel as it approached from Ukraine, the Belaruski Partyzan news site reports.

The driver, a 21-year-old unemployed man from the Brest Region of western Belarus, submitted a written declaration that he was bringing no goods into the country, but the officers stopped the car and searched the interior thoroughly.

image copyright Belarusian Customs Committee image caption The Makrany crossing, looking towards Ukraine

They found nothing untoward until they opened a spare fuel container, only to discover it was crammed full of sawn-off deer antlers. The customs officers estimate the illegal haul could have earned the smuggler more than 3,500 Belarusian roubles, or about $1,750 (£1,340).

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The importation of deer antlers for decorative use is not banned in Belarus, but they must have duty paid on them and be accompanied by a veterinary certificate testifying that they were obtained in a legal and humane manner.

The driver faces charges, and his car has been seized as evidence, according to the Customs Service of Brest Region

image copyright Belarusian Customs Committee image caption The antlers were hidden in a fuel tank

Reporting by Martin Morgan

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