Cowboy Hat Smuggler Rounded Up On Swedish-Norway Frontier
This guy was definitely all hat and no cowboy.
Swedish authorities report seizing 540 cowboy hats from the trunk of a Polish man. The man, who was not identified, also had a stash of booze and cigarettes in his car, apparently to keep the cowboys warm by the fire.
“This is our largest seizure of cowboy hats,” said Morten Nystuen of the Kongsvinger customs to the Glåm Dalen newspaper. “We’ve had to confiscate clothes before, but never cowboy hats,” he said.
There also were 12,400 cigarettes, 40 pounds of tobacco, 144 liters of beer and 32 liters of wine. Taxes are high on cigarettes and booze. Authorities estimate that with the hats it was worth almost $21,000.
The alleged smuggler was arrested and jailed. Customs officials believe he was headed to Oslo when he was stopped at the border in western Sweden at Arviken.
Norway has had a butter shortage of late, but there has been no report of a dearth of cowboy hats.
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