“On January 30, 2022, agents from the Dijon customs brigade checked, on the A31, a passenger vehicle registered in Spain with a couple on board”, explains the Dijon Regional Customs Directorate in a press release.
The occupants of the car then declared to return to Spain where they reside after a two-day stay with friends in Maastricht in the Netherlands.
The customs dog team checked the vehicle and marked “clearly the inside of the trunk and the rear seat”.
A hiding place in the car
The agents then observed “a plate screwed in place of the normally removable plate to access the spare wheel”. By dismantling the plate, they discovered “a hiding place fitted out for the location of the spare wheel, containing eight heat-sealed bags, the opening of which reveals the presence of euro banknotes, for a total amount of €86,930”.
“The couple was immediately placed in customs detention for breach of the obligation to declare capital and customs laundering in connection with drug trafficking”, specify the customs.
And to add: “They would have been contacted by a person in Spain who offered them to send money to Germany, and would have made two empty trips to locate the route. At the end of the customs procedure, the defendants were handed over to the Is-sur-Tille research brigade. »
The couple judged in immediate appearance
The couple was judged on February 2 in immediate appearance and sentenced to two years of suspended imprisonment, as well as fines of €43,465 for the breach of the reporting obligation and €86,930 for customs laundering.
As a reminder, customs participates in the fight against financial fraud: it thus seized or identified 44.8 million euros in this respect in 2020.
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