German customs seized a record-breaking 650,000 illegal vapes.

Footage shows Krefeld Main Customs Office officers raiding a storage facility in Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on November 27.

What started as a routine tax inspection quickly became a major bust when authorities discovered around 200 pallets filled with electronic cigarettes from various brands.

Customs Investigation Office Essen spokesman Heike Sennewald said in a statement on December 6: 'The Krefeld customs officers immediately informed the responsible customs investigation office in Essen, which took over the investigations and the arrests on site.

'During the search of the storage facility, 212 Euro pallets containing around 625,000 suspected illegal e-cigarettes were seized.'

Sennewald continued: 'While customs officers were searching the storage facility, a Polish van arrived and said that he had a delivery of e-cigarettes for that address and wanted to unload them.

'Customs officers searched the van and seized another six pallets with 29,920 presumably untaxed, non-marketable vapes.

'Two men working in the hall with no fixed address, aged 21 and 38, were arrested on suspicion of tax evasion through trading in untaxed and non-marketable e-cigarettes and brought before the judge at the Neuss District Court.

'The District Court ordered pre-trial detention.

'After the searches were completed, the number of illegal vapes seized was approximately 650,000, with an estimated tax loss in the millions. Extensive other evidence was also seized.'

Customs Criminal Investigation Office head Dr Tino Igelmann added: 'The record quantity of illegal e-cigarettes seized here presumably significantly exceeded the maximum permitted tank volume of two millilitres per e-cigarette.

'Up to 25,000 puffs per cigarette were advertised. In addition, the vapes were presumably smuggled in by circumventing food and health regulations.

'With this complex investigation, the public prosecutor's office, together with the customs investigation department, is once again sending a clear signal against tax evasion and organised crime.

'Our main goal is to break up the perpetrators' structures and freeze illegally acquired assets.'