Arnold Schwarzenegger jokes about customs detainment during charity auction

Arnold Schwarzenegger poked fun at his recent detainment at customs during his charity auction on Thursday.

The Terminator star was detained at Munich airport in Germany for three hours on Wednesday for travelling with a luxury watch on his way to the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative fundraiser in Kitzbuhel, Austria. He now faces criminal tax proceedings for failing to register the imported watch.

The action man made light of the situation before he kicked off the bidding war for his Audemars Piguet timepiece at the Stanglwirt Resort on Thursday.

"We always start things with a lot of drama. That's what we saw yesterday. I mean, can you even believe that all of a sudden I was in handcuffs? I was in handcuffs! Not because of the watch or because of the customs office, but I had a hot night with my girlfriend Heather last night," Arnold joked, referring to girlfriend Heather Milligan, according to a video obtained by TMZ.

"I mean, it's unbelievable. But seriously, the woman there at the customs office said, 'If you don't behave, I'm gonna put you in handcuffs.' (I said,) 'That's OK that's a great deal, because usually I pay $500 for that!' This was a wild experience, I can tell you that."

The 76-year-old then noted that customs officials started looking for a second watch after they discovered the first one in his luggage.

"He couldn't find it. Because I was hiding it. But I cannot tell you where because I just cannot sit down today," he quipped, prompting laughter from the audience.

According to the outlet, the luxury watch, which is said to be worth $100,000 (£79,000), was auctioned off for $293,000 (£231,000).

The gala raised a total of $1.4 million (£1.1 million) for Schwarzenegger's organisation.