Poppies seized by Zimbabwe customs

Customs officials in Zimbabwe have impounded thousands of red paper poppies sent from Britain for ceremonies commemorating the end of the First World War.

Zimbabwe Customs have demanded around £500 (€743) in duty and tax from a veterans’ group in Zimbabwe for about 20,000 poppies donated by the Royal British Legion.

“We have appealed to the Controller of Customs to release the poppies, but we won’t be getting them by Sunday,” said a Legion official who asked not to be identified.

Veterans and military attaches from allied embassies lay wreaths at a monument in Harare on Armistice Day each year.