ARNOLD Schwarzenegger was detained at an airport in Germany after failing to declare a luxury watch.
The Terminator star, 76, was held by customs officers in Munich “under tax laws” for several hours after flying in from Los Angeles.
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He was pulled aside to have his luggage inspected and officials found a €26,000 custom-made watch from luxury Swiss brand Audemars Piguet in his bag, BILD reports.
Thomas Meister, spokesman for the main customs office in Munich, said the watch should have been registered because it is an import – and they have now “initiated criminal tax proceedings”.
A photo showed Arnie holding up the watch box and smiling at the camera while being questioned by customs officers in a side room.
Arnie – who has dual Austrian and US citizenship – was on his way to attend a charity auction being held tomorrow in Kitzbühel, Austria.
He had packed the luxury watch from his private collection for it to be auctioned off at the dinner before the official start of his World Climate Summit.
He was reportedly flying with his partner Heather Milligan.
A customs spokesman told German outlet SZ: “If the goods remain in the EU, you have to declare them through customs.
“This applies to everyone, whether their name is Schwarzenegger or Müller, Meier.”
According to BILD, Arnie called in his lawyers after being questioned for nearly four hours.
And he was allegedly slapped with a €35,000 fine for failing to declare the watch.
The Austrian-born actor was released and allowed to continue on his journey to Austria shortly before 5pm local time.
