Skopje, 16 August 2023 (MIA) — A Serbian national of Turkish descent has been detained for attempting to smuggle gold into the country at the Skopje International Airport. Also detained was a Macedonian customs officer who was helping him get away with it, the Skopje Public Prosecutor's Office said.

According to the PPO's press release, the Serbian national arrived at the airport on a plane from Istanbul on March 20, and by skipping the customs line, attempted to smuggle 43.13kg of various gold jewelry worth around EUR 2.200.000.

The Macedonian customs officer, who was off duty that day, helped him bypass customs control by first pointing him to the green line for passengers with nothing to declare.

But because that line was closed off with security tape, all passengers were redirected to the red customs line.

Ignoring the directions, however, the customs officer then moved the security tape for both of them to cross without a customs search and they headed toward the exit.

Customs officers stopped them and found the valuable gold jewelry when searching the luggage.

Both have been detained and are facing criminal charges, the release adds. ssh/mr