Customs support group

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The Customs Support Groups (UGZ) were, in addition to the Central Support Group (ZUZ), a special task force of the German customs administration and thus a special unit similar to the MEK .

The UGZ were subordinate to the Cologne Customs Criminal Police Office and assisted the customs investigation offices and occasionally the police. They were founded in response to increasing violence, as the countries' SEKs themselves were busy and the use of unskilled officials was too dangerous. Good health and mental stability were basic requirements for the application. The entrance exams for the UGZ lasted 14 days, on average only 18% of the applicants passed the extensive tests.

The UGZ should not be confused with the Central Customs Support Group .

The Customs support groups were disbanded in 2007 and their staff was forced to move to the Customs observation units .