What is the weirdest thing we've seen someone try and take through airport security? The employees at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) have seen plenty. But they can now also brag about their volume: in the last year, customs officials at the airport checked more pieces of luggage than ever before, and detected far more contraband.
The Zoll checked approximately 662,000 pieces of luggage, passengers, and cargo, according to data provided to rbb — which amounted to roughly 33% more inspections than the previous year. They found over 9,200 violations in what people attempted to fly with, an increase of about 21%.
During peak season, we really had everything: snakes, venomous spiders, chameleons.
HEIST is a worker-owned online magazine, founded by writers and editors who after years working across Berlin's media landscape believed something essential was missing.
Anyone living here has felt a growing gap between the city as it actually is and the version being served up by mainstream outlets. We experienced that disconnect firsthand. We saw political censorship shape coverage decisions and felt the weight of billionaire ownership land directly on our work. It reached a point where we could either keep going along with it, or try to build something better.
That's why we created HEIST.
And look at you: scrolling, clicking, squinting at blurred text just to get a little further. If you'll go to that much effort to read HEIST, you can surely give us one email. That's the whole price, and the rest of the story is right behind it.
Real journalism costs money. We commission the hard-hitting, well-reported, long-form work everyone wants to read but nobody seems to publish anymore.
The future of this city is still in the balance. We intend to be part of that struggle. We hope that you'll join us.
