Gangs split up smuggled cash to evade detection
Customs officers said gang bosses are keeping individual cash amounts below the legal threshold of €6,348 but are sending more than one courier on the same flight. Cash amounts above this must be declared and documentation given to prove the cash is from legitimate sources.
Figures released to the Irish Examiner show more than €10m in cash linked to criminality has been seized by customs officials since 2005 and more than half has been so far forfeited to the State after court orders.
While the amount of cash seized has dropped from a peak in 2008, the actual number of seizures has not fallen.
Customs officers said crime figures generally use individuals who are on the “periphery of criminal gangs” to courier and that it was very rare for known criminals to carry large amounts of cash through airports.
The most common destinations are Spain and the Netherlands — reflecting where Irish trafficking gangs are based and the main supply hubs in Western Europe.
Figures show:
*€1.1m was seized in 2011, compared to €1.7m in 2010, €1.4m in 2009, €3.5m in 2008 and €500,000 in 2007.
*€850,000 was seized up to the end of Oct 2012, with preliminary reports showing at least another €53,000 was seized since.
*There were 39 seizures in 2011, 46 in 2010, 34 in 2009, 37 in 2008 and 17 in 2007. There were 35 seizures up to Oct 2012.
*€10.2m has been seized since 2005 and €5.4m been forfeited to the State following court orders.
A customs spokeswoman said: “There is an increasing trend to a practice known as ‘smurfing’. This occurs where two or more couriers travel on the same flight carrying separate amounts of cash below the minimum legal threshold [€6,348].”
*Dutch national Rafhe John, flying to Amsterdam with €107,000, claimed he got the cash in a car at the back of Dublin Airport from a man he didn’t know and intended to buy construction vehicles.
*Arshad Hassan, flying to Germany with €50,000 from Kerry Airport, said he had intended to open a restaurant in Dublin but it was not ready. He got the money from a man in Killarney and was returning to Germany.
*Irishman David Whearty, flying to Málaga, Spain, with €49,930 at Dublin Airport, claimed it was his winnings from horse racing bets.
*William Patrick O’Brien, flying to Amsterdam with €18,050 at Dublin Airport, claimed he was buying an engagement ring.
*Ciaran Curtis, flying to Barcelona with €11,000, claimed the cash was for Champions League trips.
