John Culatto
NEARLY €86,000 taken from a person entering Gibraltar nearly a year ago will now be added to government coffers.
The cash, in different bills, was confiscated on December 18, 2019, at the Four Corners Station by the frontier.
“The person claimed that the money was not his, but failed to give the name of the owner,” said Gibraltar Customs.
“Not satisfied, officers detained the cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2015 in order to investigate the matter further.”
At first, the person who was carrying the money contacted HM Customs through a lawyer.
However, he did not give any evidence to explain the origin of the cash or what it would be used for.
Now the Magistrates Court has ordered the cash be forfeited after an application made on October 25.
Gibraltar has been working with Spain to fight money laundering in the area, resulting in a number of arrests and even the impounding of a luxury yacht last summer.
The actions are part of a Guardia Civil campaign against the drug traffickers of the region that led to the raid on Narcoville in La Linea last June.
Hashish is often transported from Morocco to the Campo area with illegal semi-rigid launches.
On Monday morning, a launch carrying 500kg of hashish was located at Punta Carnero in Algeciras.
Its owners had fled the scene by the time Guardia Civil agents arrived on the scene.
The boat had four 350cc engines which are used to try to outmanoeuvre coastguard launches and helicopters as it crosses the Straits of Gibraltar.
