Excess cash and false declaration land passenger in hot water
A passenger heading to an outbound flight to Tunisia on Monday got more than he bargained for when he lied to customs officials about the amount of cash he was carrying.
Refugee Hisham Khalleefah Ali Laweer was arraigned on Tuesday after he was arrested at Malta International Airport at around 4.30am on Monday over an alleged breach of cash control regulations and a false declaration made to customs officers.
A female officer explained in court how officials had been carrying out random currency checks at the departure lounge for non-Schengen passengers, when a sniffer dog signalled a reaction in respect of the suspect.
When conducted to a private office, the man allegedly told officers that he had €9,000 in cash, before producing the sum of €9,715.
However, a rub-down search on the suspect soon yielded a further €2,000 in cash, the court was told.
Although no money was found in the passenger’s luggage, a strip search yielded another €15,000, bringing the total amount of cash to €26,715, well above the maximum statutory limit of €10,000.
In light of the man’s own admission, the court, presided over by magistrate Aaron Bugeja, declared the accused guilty, ordered the confiscation...