Skopje, 12 September 2023 (MIA) — While conducting a routine search of a bus at the Deve Bair border crossing, customs officers found and seized 329 undeclared Gadovist 1.0 injections used during magnetic resonance imaging, the Customs Administration said in a press release.

The gadolinium-based contrast agent, which increases the accuracy of MRI for the identification of both benign and malignant lesions, was hidden in a pack of branded bottled water.

"On Sept. 8, customs officers during a search of a bus with Turkish license plates traveling from Istanbul to Pec in Kosovo, found under one of the middle seats a package containing 329 pieces of Gadovist 1.0 15ml injection solution from the German manufacturer Bayer," the release says.

The owner was a passenger from Kosovo with the initials M. Sh., who did not have a medical import licence from the Ministry of Health.

A report has been filed against the person for the crime of smuggling, under Article 278 of the Criminal Code, the release adds. mr/