Large-scale "shadow mail" from Germany: journalists expose scheme of illegal deliveries of bedding to Russia
In Germany, a large-scale scheme for the illegal delivery of parcels to Russia was uncovered, in violation of European Union sanctions.
According to Censor.NET, this is reported in an investigation by the German publication Bild.
How "shadow mail" works
Journalists discovered that former employees of the German subsidiary of the Russian postal service had organized a network for delivering cargo to Russia via a warehouse near Berlin Airport.
Ordinary parcels marked "books and hats" contained sanctioned electronic components, jewelry, and other prohibited goods.
To conceal the cargo, labels from the Uzbekistan state postal service, which is not officially authorized to operate in Germany, were used, allowing customs controls to be circumvented.
Combating smuggling
According to the investigation, trucks regularly traveled from Berlin to Moscow, crossing the EU and Belarus border without proper control.
"Such a system poses enormous risks to the effectiveness of sanctions and threatens the security of the European market," the authors of the investigation noted.
Although the Berlin prosecutor's office previously closed the case against a key figure in the scheme due to "lack of evidence," the channel continues to operate.
"The system for delivering goods to Russia is operating almost without hindrance, despite sanctions and numerous warnings," according to the journalists' investigation.
- We previously reported that despite sanctions in Russia, sales of luxury cars such as Bentley, Lamborghini, and Rolls-Royce increased by 28%.
