Los Angeles: Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger was detained at Munich airport in Germany after he failed to declare an expensive watch upon his arrival. The actor was held for three hours on January 17. According to reports, the actor who travelled from the US carried an 'unregistered' watch from Swiss luxury brand Audemars Piguet and tried to take it through customs.
The actor who was left surprised by the incident expressed his displeasure. "This is the problem that Germany is suffering from," the 76-year-old told German newspaper Bild. "You can no longer see the forest for the trees."
Though he was displeased by the detention, Arnold reportedly managed to be cooperative. "He cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown, a total comedy of errors that would make a very funny cop movie," a source said.
The actor had planned to auction the timepiece during a fundraising dinner at his World Climate Summit in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Thomas Meister, a Munich Customs press officer, told CNN: "He did not declare a product. A product that was imported from non-EU countries in order to remain in the EU." Thomas added: "And this process applies to everyone."
According to a source, Arnold agreed to pre-pay potential taxes on the item. However, the officers reportedly failed to use a credit card machine for an hour, following which, they brought the actor to a bank and asked him to withdraw cash from an ATM. Since the ATM had a limit too low, the actor finally withdrew the money from a new credit card machine brought to the bank for the purpose.
(With IANS inputs)
