German customs release Arnold Schwarzenegger after luxury watch furor
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian and American actor and former governor of California, after receiving the Bavarian Film Award. Schwarzenegger was detained by German customs officers at Munich Airport on Wednesday for failing to declare a valuable luxury watch. Sven Hoppe/dpa

Actor and former U.S. politician Arnold Schwarzenegger was briefly detained by German customs officers at Munich Airport on Wednesday for allegedly failing to declare a valuable luxury watch.

Austrian-born Schwarzenegger was eventually able to continue on his journey, said a spokesman for the main customs office in Munich on Wednesday evening.

He was also able to take the watch with him. Criminal tax proceedings had been initiated against Schwarzenegger, a world-champion bodybuilder and action film star who also served two terms as governor of California.