In a large-scale inspection exercise, Swiss customs authorities discovered illegal weapons, drugs and counterfeit goods. But they are struggling to keep up with the post-pandemic surge in deliveries.
The forbidden object was pink, and might easily pass for a ballpoint pen – if it weren’t for the sharp coils embedded in the metal. Tanja Brunner took the object out of its plastic packaging with gloved fingers, and showed it around. It was not a ballpoint pen, she said. «It’s a kubotan. A stabbing weapon that is banned in our country.»
Tanja Brunner heads Switzerland’s customs office in Zurich. Earlier this month, her staffers carried out the largest goods inspection for online purchases in the history of the Swiss customs service. Last Tuesday, Nov. 11, at the logistics center operated by the DPD delivery service in the Zurich Unterland town of Buchs, she demonstrated how her employees had performed this task.
The Swiss customs services have had difficulties monitoring the flood of parcels in recent years. Since the pandemic, online cross-border shopping has exploded – and volumes continue to grow. Authorities estimate that 55 million orders will be shipped into the country this year – far too many to scrutinize individually. For this reason, the customs service has come to rely on priority inspections of this kind.
At a press conference last Wednesday, Brunner unveiled the results of the latest operation. Customs staff scanned around 15,000 packages and opened around 1,500. «And we are very pleased with the result. The effort was worth it,» Brunner said. Customs officers intercepted illegal goods in nearly 700 cases, she added. Most of the seizures involved medicines, counterfeit luxury goods or weapons.
Customs officials used a mobile X-ray station to check 15,000 packages during the large-scale inspection.
A throwing star, a laser, brass knuckles
Packages were selected by officers either randomly or based on specific suspicions. For example, certain firms are already on the authorities’ radar. In addition, some seasoned inspectors have a knack for spotting dubious parcels.
One such case was the white envelope originating from China in which Brunner found the kubotan device on Tuesday. This was one of the roughly 120,000 parcels that DPD processes every night in Switzerland.
During inspections, customs staffers remove certain packages from the regular delivery flow. The items’ recipients receive a note from DPD stating that their order is being delayed. Each package from this random sample is X-rayed by a specialist. Anything that looks suspicious is then taken aside and opened.
After being discovered, the package containing the kubotan must be handed over to the public prosecutor’s office. The police will then investigate whether the recipient had knowingly ordered illegal goods, and determine what the recipient planned to do with the weapon. Depending on the findings, the intended recipient may be fined for violating the Weapons Act.
During the 1 1/2 hour inspection last week, a number of other prohibited items were found, including a class 3 laser, a throwing star, additional kubotans, a set of brass knuckles and a slingshot. The customs officers also found two axes and a compact aluminum baseball bat. However, these items are not restricted under Swiss law.
In such cases, the customs staff reseal the parcel after inspection and release it for further delivery. Only the additional adhesive tape offers a clue that the customs service has inspected the shipment.
Around 55 million parcels are expected to enter Switzerland from abroad in 2024. Customs officials can inspect only a fraction of these.
Getting insulin instead of diet pills
Switzerland’s weapon regulations are complex. Importing knives is prohibited or subject to authorization only under certain circumstances. For example, importing daggers with blades longer than five centimeters, switchblades or butterfly knives is prohibited.
However, as Andreas Wydler, head of the Federal Office of Police’s central weapons unit, explained on Wednesday, even toy pistols can be confiscated if they look deceptively real. Wydler noted that many customers are unaware that they are doing something illegal. «You might order a lighter that looks like a real gun and think nothing of it,» he said. However, online shoppers with concerns can always contact the federal police or the cantonal weapons offices before ordering a weapon online, he added.
Customs staffers open only those parcels that look suspicious in the X-ray images. In one of these, Tanja Brunner finds the kubotan (right).
According to the customs authorities, airsoft pistols and illegal knives are the most frequently discovered prohibited weapons. During last week’s large-scale inspection, a total of 79 weapons were seized, with the majority of the packages coming from China.
Medicines are confiscated even more frequently. During the inspection, 241 packages containing pharmaceuticals were seized, with one-third of them consisting of erectile stimulants. At Wednesday’s news conference, Nicolas Fotinos of the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, Switzerland’s pharmaceutical regulator, issued a stark warning against ordering medicines from outside the legal channels. «That can be extremely dangerous,» he said.
Fotinos described the example of a young woman from eastern Switzerland who, seeking to lose weight, tried to obtain the weight-loss drug Ozempic illegally. However, the online providers sent her insulin syringes instead of the intended drug. «If a healthy person takes insulin, they can faint or even die,» Fotinos cautioned.
Distinguishing between legal and illegal sources has become increasingly difficult for consumers, Fotinos noted. Providers are increasingly portraying themselves online as Swiss online pharmacies. Prices are quoted in Swiss francs, and the name of a Swiss city may also appear somewhere on the website. With the help of AI, these sites are getting better and better, he added.
While Swiss regulators are working to take action against illegal websites, Fotinos acknowledged the uphill battle they face. When sellers operate outside the country, Swiss authorities lack the power to shut them down. Even if a site is taken offline, 10 new ones emerge almost immediately, Fotinos said. Moreover, the flow drugs sent from other countries continues. For some time, the primary origin point was India, but shipments now increasingly originate from Singapore, Hong Kong and Poland, he noted.
Brass knuckles, baseball bats, slingshots, throwing stars and kubotans (above): Tanja Brunner (below) finds everything imaginable in the inspected packages.
Beyond inspections
Given the huge volume of incoming packages, Brunner says it is entirely unrealistic to expect customs authorities to identify anywhere close to all prohibited shipments. Nevertheless, she says her staffers have gained valuable insights into the current preferences of Swiss consumers.
Before the kubotans, inspectors discovered a significant number of water pistols designed to look like real firearms, she said. They are also able to identify trends extending beyond weapons. Brunner noted that in the case of drugs, small quantities of new substances often appear in small packages before the goods wind up being sold in larger quantities on the street. Similarly, Brunner added, counterfeit football jerseys tend to spike in the run-up to major events like the World Cup.
Faced with this relentless flood of parcels, the customs service aims to continuously refine its methods, Brunner explained, enabling more focused and effective interventions. They have also worked closely with risk analysis specialists, she said.
Inspections, however, are just one tool the authorities have at their disposal. Brunner noted that authorities also work to encourage compliance among retailers, particularly when it comes to product safety standards. On the consumer side, they also work to deter shoppers from purchasing illegal items. For example, authorities seek to make shoppers aware of regulations, pointing out that any illegal orders might well be discovered and seized by the customs services.
The large-scale inspections also serve as a means of raising public awareness.
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