Swiss customs officials announced on Tuesday that a Japanese samurai sword, or “katana”, about 700 years old and valued at more than $700,000, was smuggled into Switzerland in a Swiss-registered car.
The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security said the driver of the car, who was traveling with his daughter, failed to report the unusual item when he entered Switzerland through the Teingen border crossing near Germany.
At the end of an investigation by customs, “it turned out that the driver of the car was not the owner of the sword”, but worked for the real owner, and the latter instructed the driver to bring the sword. from the German city of Stuttgart and take it to your home in Switzerland.