Skin advantage: smugglers import jewelry into Russia, export walrus tusks
Jewelry, drugs, and animal parts. Cars and motorcycles, psychotropic drugs and forests. There are also kilograms of hair, suitcases of silver, hawks in the spare tire compartment, parrots in boxes, dried ginseng root in men's underpants and walrus tusks in women's stockings. The Federal Customs Service of Russia shared with Izvestia the results of its work over the past months of 2025. The most noticeable increase, more than doubling, was recorded in terms of jewelry smuggling, most often from the UAE, Turkey and China. The criminal liability for smuggling is up to 20 years. Our article describes the importation schemes used by criminals.
What was imported and exported from Russia
In 2025, jewelry, cars and motorcycles, animal parts, drugs, psychotropic drugs and timber were most often smuggled into Russia, the Federal Customs Service told Izvestia. For example, twice as many criminal cases have been opened for the illegal transportation of jewelry this year than in the same period in 2024.
In total, almost 1.2 thousand criminal cases were initiated in the first half of the year for violating the rules for transporting goods across the border. Of these, the largest number — 575 — are related to the smuggling of strategically important goods and resources, as well as highly potent substances. In addition, about 88 thousand administrative offenses were identified — about 37 thousand for contraband formations.
Smugglers use the most ingenious schemes to import goods into Russia. For example, Tatarstan customs officers stopped the illegal import of Red Book parrots from Central Asia. Eight birds were found in a wooden box at Kazan International Airport.
And Ussuri customs officers detained a foreigner who hid two bundles of dried ginseng roots weighing more than half a kilogram in his underwear. The 57-year-old man was heading to China through the Poltava checkpoint. A tourist tried to smuggle 3 kg of walrus tusk fragments using the same method — she was traveling by bus to China.
"During the customs control, the 50-year-old woman was visibly nervous. During the inspection, customs officers found four mammalian derivatives in her possession — two attached to her waist with stockings, and two more hidden in her clothes. The woman explained that she had purchased the product at the market in the village of Zabaikalsk and wanted to use it for handicrafts," the FCS clarified.
Employees of the Samara Customs mobile group, in cooperation with border guards, prevented the illegal export of a live crocodile named Bucks to Kazakhstan. At the Orsk checkpoint, experts checked a low-tonnage truck. Among other things, the inspectors found a wooden box with a crocodile in the back. The length of the reptile was 1.8 m. The truck was driven by a resident of the Rostov region. He could not provide the permits necessary for the export of the animal abroad, he only had a veterinary passport filled out with violations.
"Krasnodar customs officers have stopped the illegal export of rare hawks to Abkhazia in the spare wheel compartment of a passenger car. There they found two birds of prey wrapped in cloth and duct tape while examining the trunk of a vehicle traveling through the Adler checkpoint," the FCS said.
At Sheremetyevo airport, customs officers stopped an attempt to illegally export almost 10.5 thousand silver items to Yerevan. The foreigner had three suitcases, which he filled with jewelry. And in Krasnoyarsk, a minivan smuggling scheme was revealed: two men imported cars from abroad in disassembled form under the guise of spare parts from Japan. Thus, they imported 18 cars, and then they legalized them using forged documents.
Over the past two and a half years, smugglers have been most interested in the illegal import of motor vehicles and spare parts for them, narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their precursors, as well as potent substances, tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, consumer goods, consumer electronics, jewelry, branded clothing and shoes, the press service of the Federal Customs Service reported.
"Among the most common schemes, it is possible to single out the declaration of goods using documents containing false information about the cost and quality characteristics, about its code and nomenclature, and the country of origin," the department said. "Underestimation of value is often used in customs operations, the movement of goods with concealment from customs control, and the import of commercial shipments of consumer goods by individuals under the guise of goods for personal use."
What is the threat for smuggling
The smuggling market in Russia, as in most major economies, remains one of the shadow components of foreign economic activity, said Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets.
"In different years, experts estimated its volume at 2-3% of the total turnover of the country, and in certain categories, for example, vehicles or jewelry, up to 10% of the market," he explained. — However, thanks to increased customs control and interagency cooperation, the state is able to identify and stop more and more illegal shipments.
The growing number of attempts to import jewelry without declaration, most often from the UAE, Turkey and China, indicates both high demand for such products and attempts by individual distributors to evade customs duties and VAT.
Smuggling schemes, as a rule, are based on the classical principle: underestimation of customs value, forgery of shipping documents, transit through third countries with a low level of control, as well as the use of natural couriers.
— In relation to vehicles, "disassembly-collection" schemes are used, that is, the import of cars in parts under the guise of spare parts, the substitution of VIN numbers and even the use of diplomatic channels, — he said. — However, it is worth noting that the Russian customs Service has dramatically strengthened the analytical and digital components of its work in recent years.
There is serious responsibility for smuggling in Russia, said Ekaterina Kutuzova, a lawyer and human rights activist.
—Thus, Article 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for punishment for the smuggling of strategically important goods and resources, Article 229.1 of the Criminal Code — for the smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and Article 191 of the Criminal Code — for the illegal import or export of precious metals, natural gems and products made from them," the lawyer recalled.
Depending on the volume, circumstances and category of the product, the perpetrators may face a large fine or imprisonment for up to 20 years. Illegally imported cars, jewelry and other items are also seized for state revenue, and persons found guilty of such offenses may be prosecuted.
How the counterfeit market is growing
The number of counterfeit products that are trying to be imported into Russia has also increased. Earlier, Izvestia wrote that the country receives a lot of counterfeit clothes, shoes, toys and even packaging products (in particular, these are cases and labels). Over the past year, the number of goods seized at the border has increased by almost 20%.
— In 2024, customs officers identified 5.8 million units of illegal products, preventing damage to copyright holders in the amount of 3.4 billion rubles. In 2023, the number of seized goods was 4.9 million, estimated at 3.7 billion rubles, the FCS reported.
In 2025, they also tried to smuggle almost 50 kg of natural human hair across the border. Such goods were found by customs officers at Domodedovo Airport in the luggage of a 37-year-old foreigner who arrived on a flight from Dubai (UAE). The cost of the product was estimated at 7 million rubles.
The man told the inspectors that he works as a hairdresser-stylist and is returning from a beauty industry festival. He stated that he was not familiar with the customs rules, and the cost of the goods did not exceed 300 thousand rubles. The violator planned to make wigs, tresses and hairpieces from the blanks.
At Irkutsk airport, customs officers found 282 packages of Labuba toys in the possession of a Russian who arrived from Beijing. The man explained that he had purchased the product in China for resale in Russia. And in Tyumen, a truck with 700 kg of counterfeit clothing was stopped. T—shirts, tracksuits, dresses and jeans made in China were found there - they were being taken to the mall for sale.
In Russia, it is forbidden to trade either obvious fakes with someone else's trademark, or unofficial replicas, experts recalled. For this, both legal entities and individuals face fines. If a violation has been committed repeatedly or has caused major damage, a criminal case may be initiated. 180 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, sellers face up to six years in prison.
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