It was in March at Ørje customs office that a vehicle with foreign registration was stopped for inspection.
The driver, of Lithuanian origin, was asked about his stay in the country. He stated that they had been in Norway for two days and gave the purpose of the visit.
The traveler admitted to carrying a substantial amount of cash but denied any additional money in the vehicle.
During the inspection, however, two cardboard boxes containing nappy packs were discovered in the car.
One nappy pack contained three vacuum-packed bundles of Norwegian banknotes.
In total, the customs officers found NOK 1.4 million. The suspect was arrested, and the case is now with the police for further investigation.
Driven by profit
The purpose of smuggling cash may be to use cash as payment for illegal goods, to launder money or to finance terrorism, according to the Norwegian Customs Authority.
– The criminal networks’ biggest driver is profit. In other words, cutting off the very lifespan of criminal networks can have major positive societal effects that go far beyond this one seizure, explains Customs Director Øystein Børmer.
Director of Customs
Combating currency smuggling is therefore a priority task for the agency.
– The social effect is not only in creating unrest in the criminal circles, but in making it less lucrative to conduct, for example, drug trafficking or other crimes against Norway. This is a price driver, and money seizures can, for example, stem from drugs that have already been sold, says Børmer.
He says that this hits the criminals harder than if the narcotic had been seized before it was traded.
A big threat
The Norwegian Customs Service estimates that several billion kroner worth of cash is smuggled in Norway every year.
– These are enormous sums. Low risk of being caught and low penalties in combination with increasingly innovative ways of smuggling currency make this a major challenge for the Norwegian Customs Board, says Børmer.
It is mainly criminal networks with a great need for money laundering that are behind currency smuggling in the country. The money is often used to maintain criminal activity or commit new criminal acts.
– In addition, money laundering is a significant threat to the welfare state and legal Norwegian businesses through distortion of competition. Money laundering is used both to carry out gross tax evasion and to launder income from criminal activities, Børmer explains.
