Authorities in Khasan on the Russian-DPRK border last week seized a shipment of 129.1 kilos of “perfumery and cosmetics” before it could be brought into North Korea, the press service of Ussuriysk Customs said in a statement.
A routine inspection onboard the passenger car of a train, the statement said, saw authorities find “boxes on a shelf in two compartments with cosmetics and perfumery.”
Customs officials then discovered 634 packs of L’Oréal-branded hand cream and make-up remover, as well as eau de toilette and perfume manufactured by Russian-made Lakes Coast, Sigare Corona Paris, and La Cote Parfum brands, worth almost 173,000 rubles ($2631).
“The owner of the goods – a citizen of the DPRK, said that he brought cosmetics and perfumes to his homeland at the request of friends,” the statement said.
“As the head of the Matveyevsky customs post, Alexander Dashenkin, said, the goods were not declared and fall under restrictive measures in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution.”
An addendum to the press release cites UN Security Council Resolution 1718 — which prohibits North Korea from importing several categories luxury goods — as the reason for the seizure.
The North Korean citizen now faces a fine of between “one half to twice the value” of the goods seized, it continued.
