https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Police have arrested seven people after seizing 4.4 kilos of cocaine and 40,000 francs ($41,000) in cash in two raids in the city of Biel/Bienne, in the canton of Bern. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160329/arrests-made-over-latest-cocaine-seizure Tue, 29 Mar 2016 15:08:24 +0200 arrests-made-over-latest-cocaine-seizure Swiss border guards nabbed a 28-year-old Dutchman who was trying to smuggle 160 kilograms of meat into Switzerland, officials said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160216/dutchman-on-ski-holiday-nabbed-for-smuggling-meat Tue, 16 Feb 2016 12:43:07 +0100 dutchman-on-ski-holiday-nabbed-for-smuggling-meat Swiss Customs said on Wednesday that they have seized two hunter trophies of protected wild goats found in a car checked at the Basel border crossing. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151216/rare-wild-goat-trophies Wed, 16 Dec 2015 22:26:35 +0100 rare-wild-goat-trophies Six out of 16 secondary border crossings on the Swiss-Italian border could be closed at night to allow border guards to spend more time chasing criminals, under a proposal made by the federal government. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151106/bern-backs-closing-ticino-borders-at-night Fri, 06 Nov 2015 09:05:54 +0100 bern-backs-closing-ticino-borders-at-night A father and son team from the canton of Fribourg operating a food truck were snared by border guards in Geneva for illegally importing hundreds of kilograms of meat, food and drink from France — and for possession of 35 pot plants. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150818/meat-and-drinks-imported-illegally-for-food-truck Tue, 18 Aug 2015 22:22:31 +0200 meat-and-drinks-imported-illegally-for-food-truck A large haul of ivory, worth more than $400,000 on the black market, was seized at Zurich airport last month on its way from Tanzania to China, the Federal Customs Administration said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150804/customs-nabs-suitcases-of-ivory-at-zurich-airport Tue, 04 Aug 2015 13:47:12 +0200 customs-nabs-suitcases-of-ivory-at-zurich-airport Border guards caught a 24-year-old man driving a Porsche trying to enter Italy from Switzerland with 27 kilograms of cocaine stashed in the vehicle, authorities in Ticino said on Monday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150413/porsche-driver-nabbed-at-border-with-cocaine-bricks Mon, 13 Apr 2015 22:05:00 +0200 porsche-driver-nabbed-at-border-with-cocaine-bricks An owner of restaurants in the Rheintal region of the canton of Saint Gallen is facing criminal charges for illegally importing 38 tons of food and drink into Switzerland from Austria, customs officials said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150122/restaurateur-caught-smuggling-38-tons-of-food Thu, 22 Jan 2015 22:27:00 +0100 restaurateur-caught-smuggling-38-tons-of-food The Italian government on Wednesday said police had seized more than 5,000 ancient artefacts in a record €45-million haul after dismantling a Swiss-Italian trafficking ring. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150122/italians-recover-looted-artefacts-from-basel-warehouse Thu, 22 Jan 2015 10:00:00 +0100 italians-recover-looted-artefacts-from-basel-warehouse A terracotta statue dating back to about 200 BC has been returned to the Chinese authorities after being intercepted by customs in Switzerland, the Swiss government said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20141212/swiss-confiscate-chinese-statue-sent-from-uk Fri, 12 Dec 2014 18:40:00 +0100 swiss-confiscate-chinese-statue-sent-from-uk Swiss border guards discovered four snakes during the course of two separate controls this week, federal customs authorities said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20141024/snake-smugglers-caught-by-swiss-border-guards Fri, 24 Oct 2014 14:29:05 +0200 snake-smugglers-caught-by-swiss-border-guards A Geneva man was stopped by border guards in Basel for attempting to smuggle seven snakes into Switzerland from France. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140703/geneva-snake-smuggler-apprehended-in-basel Thu, 03 Jul 2014 11:43:08 +0200 geneva-snake-smuggler-apprehended-in-basel The Guinness Book of Records may not have yet taken note of the fact, but Geneva claims to be home to the largest wine cellar in the world — housing a collection of three million bottles. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140521/geneva-duty-free-firm-boasts-largest-wine-cellar Wed, 21 May 2014 14:36:00 +0200 geneva-duty-free-firm-boasts-largest-wine-cellar A Frenchman living in Switzerland was caught entering the country from France with unusual contraband in his suitcase: 16 kilograms of meat from exotic species native to the African jungle. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140423/border-agents-seize-armadillo-and-crocodile-meat Wed, 23 Apr 2014 21:22:00 +0200 border-agents-seize-armadillo-and-crocodile-meat The number of Germans smuggling money out of Switzerland rose dramatically last year. Customs officers on the German-Swiss border said on Thursday they made a find in almost every third car they checked. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140417/germans-drive-smuggled-cash-into-switzerland Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:10:00 +0200 germans-drive-smuggled-cash-into-switzerland An Italian man was stopped by police on a Swiss train after a bulge in his trousers turned out to be €40,000 in banknotes stuffed into his underwear. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140320/smuggler-undone-by-bulging-underpants Thu, 20 Mar 2014 09:46:00 +0100 smuggler-undone-by-bulging-underpants Swiss customs officials have moved to discourage a flourishing cross-border trade from neighbouring Germany — in pizzas. https://www.thelocal.ch/20140203/swiss-customs-head-off-pizza-invasion Mon, 03 Feb 2014 13:52:00 +0100 swiss-customs-head-off-pizza-invasion An 88-year-old Swiss man was caught near the Italian border trying to smuggle 200,000 francs ($225,000) in cash into Italy, customs from Italy said. https://www.thelocal.ch/20131210/italians-nab-pensioner-with-200000-francs-at-border Tue, 10 Dec 2013 21:55:00 +0100 italians-nab-pensioner-with-200000-francs-at-border Swiss customs made a surprising discovery when checking a bus heading to Romania from Lausanne at the city’s bus station. https://www.thelocal.ch/20131029/hundreds-of-stolen-items-found-on-bus Tue, 29 Oct 2013 11:08:00 +0100 hundreds-of-stolen-items-found-on-bus Swiss customs agents at the Zurich airport seized one million fake tablets of anti-anxiety drug Xanax that were destined for Egypt, authorities said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20131018/customs-seize-crates-of-fake-anti-anxiety-drugs Fri, 18 Oct 2013 14:39:00 +0200 customs-seize-crates-of-fake-anti-anxiety-drugs