But for Lars, a down-on-his-luck glaciologist turned smuggler of absurdities, the quota wasn’t a convenience. It was a puzzle.
So Lars devised a plan. He recruited a team of eight tourists who wanted to see “the real Svalbard.” Each morning, they would walk through the dark, icy tunnel from Pyramiden to Longyearbyen, legally “entering” Norway. Each carried a backpack filled with the same set of items: duty-free whiskey, chocolate, and strangely—hand-warmers. They’d claim their taxfree kvote, drop the goods at a storage locker, and walk back through the tunnel. Repeat. Three times a day.
Lars returned to studying glaciers. But every April 1st, the people of Svalbard still raise a glass to the “Taxfree Tunnel Rebellion,” and newcomers are told: Never underestimate a loophole—especially one written in the dark.
Drainage Devon