Customs find piles of cash on travellers

18 October 2007

BRUSSELS – Customs officers have discovered that millions of euros in cash are being channelled through Zaventem Airport, as reported by “De Tijd” today.

Customs has been carrying out targeted checks for the last four months. In that short period the substantial sum of EUR 4.5 million has been passed through the national airport.

“That is much more than we expected”, is the reaction of Noël Colpin, the administrator for Customs & Excise. One traveller even had EUR 308,000 on him.

A lot of cash money passing through Zaventem is not undeclared. The prosecutor’s court has already started eight investigations after four months, amounting to a total of EUR 670,000.

The astonishing results have prompted Customs to integrate “cash checks” into their domestic controls.

“We are now also going to be checking for cash on the roads,” Colpin announced.