Undeclared cash totalling €21,285 was found as it was being flown out of the EU during a four-day joint operation at Madrid’s Adolfo Suárez Barajas International Airport, with support from the EU border agency Frontex.
The action, called “Aerial Cash Routes”, brought together Frontex specialists and customs and law enforcement officers from seven countries to check for cash leaving the EU without being declared, the agency informed on Thursday.
The operation focused on amounts above €10,000 carried out of the airport to destinations outside the EU, because taking that level of cash across the border without declaring it is an administrative or criminal breach.
In one case, officers stopped a traveller heading to China with an underage person who had checked in three large suitcases, and found cash hidden in a bag as well as in the child’s food packs and among the child’s belongings. The money was seized and a customs procedure was started.
Who took part
Spain’s Guardia Civil, Greece’s Hellenic Police — Directorate Against Organised Crime, and Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue led the operation, Frontex said.
Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain took part, with Norway participating as a partner country, according to the agency. Europol, the EU law enforcement agency, was also involved.
The operation formed part of EMPACT — the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats — a framework used by EU countries to run joint actions against organised crime with support from agencies including Frontex and Europol.
