Arnold Schwarzenegger was more than happy to put a very explicit image in people's minds as he joked about being detained at Munich airport.
Schwarzenegger had been traveling from the US to Austria on Wednesday (January 17) ahead of a fundraising event when his luggage was scanned by security at Munich airport in Germany.
Inside, authorities discovered an Audemars Piguet wristwatch; a luxury watch which can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Schwarzenegger's watch had an image of him as The Terminator on the back.
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The actor was detained at the airport as he had failed to declare the watch which he was intending to auction off to benefit climate initiatives, according to his non-profit the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative.
In a statement to Bild, a representative for the Munich customs office said: “We have initiated criminal tax proceedings. The watch should have been registered because it is an import. If the goods remain in the EU, you have to pay tax and duty on them. That applies to everyone.”
Schwarzenegger was detained for hours as a result of the discrepancy, but he did eventually make it to the fundraiser at Stanglwirt Resort in Austria.
There, he took to the stage and addressed the incident with a joke.
"You always start things with a lot of drama," Schwarzenegger began. "That’s what you saw yesterday. And do you believe that? That all of a sudden I was in handcuffs?"
"I was in handcuffs," Schwarzenegger continued, before coming in with his mic-drop moment: "Not because of the watch or the customs office but because I had a hot night with my girlfriend Heather last night. It was unbelievable."
Schwarzenegger, who is 76, has been in a relationship with physical therapist Heather Milligan for more than a decade.
After putting the raunchy image of them together into everyone's minds, Schwarzenegger then went on to tell the crowd that a member of security at the airport had threatened him with handcuffs, but he still couldn't resist making light of the situation.
"The woman at the customs office said, ‘If you don’t behave, I’m going to put you in handcuffs'," he said.
"And I said, ‘That’s OK. That’s a great deal because usually I pay $500 for that.’”
All in all, Schwarzenegger described the experience as 'wild'.
He continued: "You try to bring this great watch ... this very special watch. Now they find it in the luggage, then the guy is looking for a second watch."
"He couldn’t find it," the actor joked. "Because I was hiding it. But I cannot tell you where because I can’t sit down today.”
After the incident, the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative told German press agency DPA: "He cooperated at all times, even though it was an incompetent investigation, a total comedy of errors, but one that would make a very funny police film.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course, immediately agreed to pay customs on - think about it - his own personal watch.
"We hope that Germany invests as much energy in reorganising its economy and making it more environmentally friendly as it does in levying customs duties on people's property."
The case against Schwarzenegger will now go to the responsible criminal and fines office in the city of Augsburg.
The watch was ultimately auctioned off for €270,000 ($294,000).
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Celebrity, World News, Money
Emily Brown