At the Estonian Police Museum in Rakvere, visitors checking out the permanent exhibition "§moke. Smuggling: Confiscation and Punishment" first have to guess what contraband might be found in the museum's suitcase.

"You can scan the suitcase — though not your own personal suitcase," said museum director Andrus Eesmaa. "You can place it on the conveyor belt and then step into the role of a customs officer to figure out what's inside. We've hidden weapons and all sorts of other items in there."

A prison cell door also featured in the exhibition serves as a stark reminder of where breaking the law can lead.

"We're focused on prevention, and this exhibition illustrates that there's no point in smuggling cigarettes — nevermind smoking them," Eesmaa noted.

Likely the most intriguing for the museum's adult visitors is a display of confiscated packs of cigarettes.

"This is a private collection from a customs officer at the Luhamaa border checkpoint," the museum director said.

The display tends to prompt visitors to share their own stories, he added: "How they were caught smoking behind a woodpile by their grandparents, for example, and other such tales."

The exhibition also includes bicycles that Narva residents have walked across the border with contraband cigarettes stashed in their tires.

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