January 15, 2013. A Russian citizen arriving to Yekaterinburg from Bangkok tried to smuggle more than 27 kilos of precious stones worth 9.17m RUR into the country. He did not manage to pass the customs unheeded, so the unpaid customs duty was estimated at 2.421m RUR and criminal action was taken, with charges based on Avoidance of customs duties payment, the spokesperson for Ural Customs Administration reports.

The Russian citizen in question arrived at Koltsovo Airport with a suitcase full of diamonds, topazes, sapphires, and ready pieces of jewelry (27 kilos altogether) as early as on September 23, 2012. As the unpaid customs duty exceeded 1m RUR, criminal proceedings regarding large-scale avoidance of customs duties payment had to be instituted. The case is now being investigated.