German minister under fire for flying carpet from Kabul

German prosecutors are looking into whether Germany's international development minister Dirk Niebel broke the law by failing to declare to customs a rug he bought in Afghanistan which was transported back to Germany aboard an intelligence service plane.

Dubbed as the "flying carpet scandal", Niebel is under fire for not having paid import duty on a 30kg-carpet which costs around €1,120.

The opposition Social Democrats (SPD) have demanded an explanation from the minister. He is a member of the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), junior coalition partners with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats.

According to German media, Niebel bought the thick red carpet in Kabul for his dining room but it was too heavy to fly back on a scheduled flight. Reportedly, the German foreign intelligence service offered to fly it back to Berlin as a favour. Other media however report that it was Niebel himself who asked the embassy to arrange for the carpet to be sent on the next government plane.

Niebel has also said that he intends to pay the import duties, which amount to €200.