Customs seize 50kg of hair at Moscow airport

Customs officials at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow have confiscated 110lbs (about 50 kg) of human hair worth nearly $70,000 from the luggage of a foreign passenger arriving from Dubai.

The 37-year-old man passed through the airport’s ‘green’ corridor, reserved for passengers with no items to declare, but was flagged during a baggage inspection, according to the customs’ press service.

Officials discovered seven plastic bags containing 300 bundles of natural hair of various colors and types. The man, who identified himself as a hairstylist returning from an international beauty festival, claimed he was unaware of the declaration rules. He estimated the value of the hair at $3,000, stating he intended to use it for making wigs, extensions, and hairpieces in Russia.

Authorities charged the passenger with violating customs declaration regulations and a court imposed an administrative fine exceeding $32,000.

In recent months, customs officials at major airports in the Russian capital have reported similar seizures. A passenger at Sheremetyevo Airport was found carrying mammoth tusk fragments and now faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

In July, a passenger was stopped at Domodedovo Airport attempting to take 11 walrus tusks to Cairo. He claimed he bought them at a flea market to use as furniture legs. Experts later determined the tusks in fact held significant cultural value, as they came from an Atlantic walrus listed in Russia’s Red Data Book, a state document established for documenting rare and endangered species.