Customs officers at Vienna Airport confiscated 11 suitcases containing 170,000 cigarettes and other illicit goods during an operation in October, described as a historic haul.

“We have never encountered such quantities in passenger traffic before,” said Roland Karner, Head of the Customs Team, who has worked at Vienna Airport since 1991.

Three smugglers were involved. They now face penalties of up to €80,000 each, with tax evasion proceedings underway.

The seizure included 852 cartons of cigarettes, 50 kilograms of shisha tobacco, and 6,276 potency pills. The three male suspects, who had arrived from Cairo, Egypt, were flagged by customs based on prior intelligence. The first individual to be stopped was a 61-year-old Italian travelling with four suitcases. An X-ray scan revealed that all his luggage contained cigarettes and shisha tobacco.

Shortly afterwards, two other passengers – a Frenchman and an Austrian – tried to avoid customs after realising their associate had been caught. However, their attempt failed, and customs officers discovered more contraband in their luggage.

Finance Minister Gunter Mayr also commended the operation, saying: “When the right suitcases are singled out from millions, it shows how professionally smuggling is being tackled here.”