Government to donate seized footwear to migrants

1,000 pair of shoes that were seized by the Customs Department will be donated to migrants in detention centres, finance minister Edward Scicluna announced.

The shoes are genuine goods, which were used to conceal the importation of illegal products.

Addressing a press conference together with the Director General of Customs Joseph P. Brincat in Valletta, Scicluna said "The aim is to demonstrate that the Customs Department is working hard to seize illegal goods and justice is really being carried out."

Even though many seized products are donated to migrants, prison inmates and other charity organisations, this is not always possible.

Depending whether the seized goods are genuine or counterfeit, they are destroyed or auctioned, providing a source of income to government, Scicluna said.

Brincat said citizens have the right to import a considerable amount of goods such as alcohol without paying excise duty in Malta.

"Anyone can import goods from Italy of any other European Union country. This is based on the principle of the freedom of movement of goods. It is illegal to stop each person from EU countries unless there is a reasonable suspicion," Brincat said.

Minister Scicluna said that a detailed report on seized goods for 2013 will be published shortly.