Russian Sanctions Send Caviar Trafficking Numbers Rocketing

Astonished customs officials have revealed that cases of trafficking caviar and vodka have skyrocketed thanks to sanctions on trade with Russia.

Austria‘s Ministry of Finance has revealed that customs officers have seized a total of nine kilogrammes (19.8 lbs) of the luxury fishy treat this year, double pre-trade ban figures.

Last year – the figures released on 6th July show – they confiscated a whopping 33lbs of the stuff, which can sell for around GBP 100 (EUR 117)an ounce.

Caviar – made from sturgeon eggs – is one of the thousands of products on worldwide trade bans with Russia introduced over the invasion of Ukraine.

Austrian Minister of Finance Magnus Brunner, 51, said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “The development of illegal caviar smuggling is extremely worrying and a catastrophe for our ecosystem.

“I would like to thank my colleagues from customs who have deliberately set priorities in terms of species protection and are thus specifically counteracting this sad development.”

Brunner emphasised that the seized caviar predominantly comes from the Middle East.

The Ministry said: “As part of its wide range of tasks, customs also monitors compliance with species protection laws in order to protect wild animal and plant species.”

Wild sturgeon – harvested for their roe – are highly endangered in Europe.

Their overexploitation, as well as habitat destruction and illegal trade practices has brought most of the species to the brink of extinction.

All species of sturgeon are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).